My Strangers

I’m going to start off this millionth attempt at sharing my journal entries online with an event that happened last night on the one train.

Javi and his girlfriend have been staying here the past few days, which I have been pretty darn thankful for. Not having to spend New Years alone, and actually having some quality conversation with people. People who aren’t my dog. Javi wants to write a children’s book and has asked me to do some drawings.

But yesterday I went to Dave’s in Greenpoint. Damn G train. He wanted me to come over and help him sew robots with his new/old sewing machine. We made them out of denim which I’m not used to working with so mine came out pretty floppy. But Dave’s came out pretty awesome. So I think all in all it was a success. Pictures to come.

On my way home from the robot adventure. After Dave showed me the best Rite Aid in all of New York, I was drawing on the subway. Some pictures of rats for Javi’s story. Until this man with a Kufi and a goatee asks me if I could draw him.

“What?” I look at him wondering if I just heard him right.

“Hey yeah, I want you to rememba mah features, go home an finkaboudem, and draw me.” He says laughing.

“You know what, I’ll draw you right now.”

I flipped to a new page in my journal and explained to him about blind contour drawings while I drew him.

“What are you pickin up from me telekenetically?” He asks, I assume because blind contours involve not looking down at the paper and not looking away from your subject.

I try explaining that I’m not a very good mind reader while shading in what I just drew. I was way more aware of the other people on the subway watching me interact with someone a small white girl might normally ignore. Some were laughing and smiling some were baffled. I asked him is name and wrote Hamish on it with a heart and gave it to him.

He told me he knew that someday he would see me again, but for now he was going to go home and frame it.

**edit**

I should also mention that as I was drawing him, he told me Obama has a place for me in his cabinet.

I love my strangers.

I think my strangers love me.