COMMON PEOPLE

I don't know, we just started to say hello. We passed each other every morning, usually around the time the hands passed 8 o' clock. I was on my way to work and he was walking his dog. I think it was just the regularity of the situation. So it got to the point where I'd approach our crossing path and I'd look forward to seeing his face. This stranger with familiar features. His crooked smile and the plumes of smoke hovering above his head. I sort of liked the fumes that followed me after he'd gone and hung onto my clothes. There was something about not knowing him, but knowing he would be there everyday, a common factor. It felt like my day didn't get off to a good start if I didn't see him. If we didn't exchange those few words, it threw me off. Like I'd missed the last train home at the beginning of the day. That's what routine will do to you, it will mess you up.