Posted by Raul on March 28, 2011
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They didn’t see the world together. They didn’t accomplish anything at all. They just happened to find each other in a day like any, and without even saying a word things seemed to click.
There was no time involved in their relationship, so maybe it couldn’t even be called as such; just a brief moment in time where they happened to be at the same place.
It was one of those things that cannot be explained…they were there, occupying the same place, without any specific activity or conversation. They didn’t talk, they didn’t touch, they didn’t look at each other’s eyes. They were just standing there, at the same place, at the same time.
Then the feelings of the surroundings suddenly changed. Like an abrupt temperature fluctuation or the appearance of a warm breeze. They felt it; they noticed something different around them, involving them.
Although nothing seemed to change in the outside around them, a warm, peaceful feeling inside took home in them both. The senses of loneliness they have been holding for a long time suddenly disappear. The sadness that makes part of a grey life without any special motivation was nowhere to be found.
Only a feeling of peace and satisfaction became their essence…happiness!
A peaceful irradiation from each one…that was created from the peaceful irradiation that came from the other…that was generated by the peaceful irradiation from the first: Automated self feeding of a circular feeding…complete autonomy from the external world!
It lasted for just a couple of seconds. After the initial feeling and the realization they were perceiving each other, without self and mutual intention, they simply walked away and on to resume their daily lives.
Nothing really changed afterwards. The same routine, the same feelings and the same kind of grey life, except now they knew they were more than independent, isolated beings. Now they knew they weren’t alone because they felt the connection with another being, even if they never completed any sort of communication.
From that day they knew…someone, somewhere, is there…and they are not alone!
Raul
Posted by Raul on December 9, 2009
Charlie and I used to meet pretty often at Station 23; we had a couple of beers and tried to fix the world in our own way; nothing wrong with that, it was just our way to escape reality for a while.
It was in 1982, when I was 20 years old and had a job in what could be called “road maintenance” but in reality was a less than minimum legal wage job were I was to walk dirty roads carrying a shovel and filling pot holes with dirt from the sides. These kinds of jobs were created by the government at that time to reduce the statistics about unemployment.
Charlie; hired for simple tasks around the house of an unknown family, felt at his 27 years of age the pass of time, not because of being old but rather the insecurity of seeing years go by without getting anywhere. He always started by complaining about his employers and finished criticizing the country’s economy.
I remember him, thin, not too tall, dark skin and big brown eyes; always dressing a red, running suit, old tennis shoes and sun glasses that he used to hide behind of most of the times.
Beer was always warm, but Station 23 was the only place in that small town where you could have a place to talk in privacy surrounded by screaming kids. Beer was the only drink we had since we didn’t have much money, but still it gave us the satisfaction of feeling big!
Many times I asked myself why poor people drink their little money, and then I could understand something; I, in such low level employment felt like the smallest expression of a human being, while drinking beer I could feel like an executive talking about an important business.
Culture wasn’t a problem, talking with Charlie about politics, economy, history, science, etc. At that moment we had the power: we asked for a beer; we had the culture: we talk and give opinions about everything under the sun; we had unconditional friendship: Charlie and I; and a brilliant future ahead of us: we just needed to be discovered!
We never gain anything, never got any new conclusion to our conversations, we just got out all the frustrations of life. We used to laugh a lot making fun of everything and everyone around; their face, their clothing, or the way they walk, anything was good just to have a brief moment of relaxation. Now I understand how much insecurity we had about ourselves. How far away it seemed to have a decent life from the possibilities that our jobs used to offer.
Station 23, the only pub in that little town was our place of meeting, our reunion area, our escape from reality. Seated at a small table, surrounded by drunk, screaming kids and very loud music, Charlie and I found a place to revive the human spirit and find new forces to keep fighting for a better future. A place where together helped each other to cope with everyday problems and fight against the adversity to start feeling again as human beings instead of low cost cargo beasts.
Station 23 was the place where we met; we hated it, but never skipped a reunion, it would be impossible since at that time we almost didn’t have any other reason to live.
Raul
