The Nice Thing About Strangers
Creative Non-Fiction Short Stories. :) Travel, Oldsters, Love, and Compassion.
Photo Op
The old man wears a straw hat shaped like a cowboy hat. It has something like a badge at the front. He wears sunglasses that are a cross between aviators and BluBlockers. At least his polo shirt is decidedly a polo shirt. It is red. He is waiting for his technologically-challenged sister to sort out how to use her cameraphone so she can take his picture. He pats his belly like a drum. She can’t get it to work and mutters to herself as he waits, as he tries to be still. He says, “I had a shave. Am I more handsome with a mustache?” He is mostly saying it to himself and slowly giving up on cooperating with the photo opportunity. When his sister finally takes the picture, he is looking away and down. She scolds him and he laughs, rubbing his hands over his face and pacing in a small circle, trying decide if they should begin again.
–Vienna, Austria.
The Nice Thing About Strangers 