30Th street station

I closed the door softly behind me as I did not want to disturb my wife .She worked hard last night preparing the Christmas eve meal, seven different kind of fish, soup from scratch, pies , cakes and cookies,what a feast it was going to be. The children always looked forward to their Mother's cooking on the holidays. When everybody was eating, she would sneak peeks to see if they were enjoying their food. Everybody was served first and then she would sit down last. I was one lucky guy to have a woman as good as she is.

She did keep me on my toes though, after retiring I didn't think it was required that I shave everyday, but she would give me this look and I would just say , time to shave! I really didn't think it was such a big deal to wear the same shirt and pants five days straight, but again she would give me this look, and I would just say, I guess I'll change ! If I had to describe the "Look" , it was kind of one eyebrow lower than the other, her lips all swooshed up like she was eating a lemon and she crosses her arms .It's funny but I kind of remember her mother giving the same look to her father, I guess it's something that Italian mothers hand down to their daughters, I can just imagine the two of them standing in front of a mirror and practicing the "look".

Now as I opened the front door and stepped out on the front step , the inclement weather did give me second thoughts . She would be mad at me for walking in this kind of weather , but the key to staying warm was to dress in layers, I had my hat , scarf and cane, I was ready to go.I wished I could have called my daughter but all phone service was out at the time. I decided to walk a block or two and if it were that bad I would return to the house. I steadied myself with my cane as I took my first step,the wind was blowing against my face causing my eyes to tear as I steadied myself . The snow was almost up to my knees, there were some areas where the snow had blown into drifts against the walls of houses and created pathways.So I used these paths to walk.

It took me about twenty minutes to traverse three blocks, there was no turning back now as there were only 7 blocks to go. Taking temporary shelter in a door way of a store, I took a breather, the wind had picked up even more creating a blizzard , I could see no further than a half block, but I have a stubborn streak, I was determined to go on.

As I stepped out of the doorway I could see a car, the only car on the street , spinning and sliding almost hitting cars parked along the curb. Out of the corner of my eye I could see a figure running right towards me, yelling and waving their arms madly. I readied my cane to defend myself in case it was a robber. I hurried my pace and stepped on a patch of ice, flailing madly to stay on my footing, but finally falling to the ground.

I must have momentarily lost consciousness , as I slowly got up from the pavement, I checked to see if my wallet was missing but everything was in order. Not even an ache or pain, the extra layer's of clothing must have cushioned my fall. How long I was out I have no idea as my wrist watch had stopped,stuck at 8:35, evidently it had broken in my fall. The weather had changed for the better as the sun was now shining and the snow had stopped. The last several blocks to the station were traversed in no time.

My wife and I often took a walk to the old station, the shop keepers along our route got to know us and would offer us a greeting and a shout hello by name.There was an excellent lunch counter inside 30Th street station where we would often spend an afternoon watching the people come and go. We both loved to to people watch. You can learn so much just by observing people. Trains arriving and departing. People coming and going. Destinations North, South, East and West. Thousands of people pass through these corridors of Philadelphia's 30Th Street station, and each one has a story to tell.

The station was crowded as I proceeded to find a spot to sit down. After some searching I spied a seat, between a young man in a green parka and a smartly dressed elderly man and woman .The gentleman looked vaguely familiar to me, he might have been one of my customers as I had owned a shop in town for many years.

The young man appeared to be in his late 20's. He seemed to be deep in thought as he slouched back on the station bench. The appearance of his hands and physique told a story of hard out door labor. I approached the seat next to him knowing instinctively this man had a story to tell . Excusing myself and asking if the seat next to him was taken, he said "no, sit down if you like", he offered me his hand and introduced himself as George, I gave my name and asked him where he was heading to ? He answered that he was going back home, back to Bedford Falls , Pennsylvania.

I had been to Bedford Falls and I told him it was a very nice town, it was like one of those towns in a Capra movie or a Norman Rockwell painting.

He said, " yes it is a very beautiful town", and I have been away from it for ten long years. The way he said "long" was drawn out and it had a tinge of sadness attached to it, I asked him, Why did you ever leave? and his story began;

From the time that I could remember I have always loved the girl that lived next door to me, her name is Mary ,we grew up together , we went to school together, we laughed and cried and lived life together,my life had always been intertwined with hers.

Mary had beautiful light red hair,I laugh about it now,but she always insisted she was a "strawberry blond". Her skin was so beautiful that it shined, it was so flawless and her smile, it could lighten up a room, I loved it when she smiled. And her eyes.... people say that the eyes are the windows to the soul, when I looked into her eyes all I could see was beauty, softness,gentleness... And she was so very smart too, she would tell me of the things that she was reading, and she would tell it in such a way that she would make it sound so interesting .

We were inseparable up until the summer we graduated high school, I had known for a few years that Mary wanted to be a doctor, and that she would have to leave Bedford Falls to go away to school, you never fully comprehend things until they happen. We promised to write each other and to talk by phone, and when I had a chance to, I would visit her.

I missed her terribly, I had this feeling that we would grow apart,she would always welcome me on my visits,but I knew that things had changed, she was pursuing her dream, but in the world that she was living in, I just did not fit, I knew that we were not home.

Back in Bedford Falls , everything seemed so different, it was like being alone for the first time, every where I turned there would be a reminder of her, the town seemed so silent and strange, it was as if the town itself missed her. I had to leave, for the first few years I traveled the world alone, and yet I was not alone, because you see she was always with me in my heart,you could say that I looked at the world through her eyes.

I have been at sea on a pitch black night, with millions of stars reflecting their light on the moving waters, I have been in deserts, where the sleeping sand stretches out endlessly and you can not tell where it ends and the sky begins, I have lain in mountain meadows where the long cool blades of grass soothe you to sleep with their song played by the wind and the silent clouds and the deep blue sky is your ceiling.

As he paused in his story, I asked him what was bringing him back home after all these years? He laughed out loud and said, " No matter where you go these days , you can not escape the Internet and computers. I had worked in Maine these last few years as a logger in the boonies, every so often I would go to town where they had a general store, the proprietor let me play around with his computer, I had seen this site where it offers you a chance to get in touch with people that you had gone to school with, out of curiosity I looked for Mary's name and it was listed, when I saw it, something told me that she was home, I called some old friends who told me that Mary was returning home as the town doctor, and that she had asked about me".

I asked him if he thought he had a chance to rekindle his relationship with Mary. His reply to me was;

"when you are home, everything is possible"

Suddenly an announcement came over the loud speaker, trains were departing for all points west, Altoona, Johnstown and Bedford Falls. The young man quickly got up, wished me a Merry Christmas and was on his way.

next chapter THE MONKEY MAN