The Little things

I was walking to my studio from the subway in Brooklyn today to etch and I was in a crappy mood with a sinus headache. I was silently cursing the bleak cold and I walked past a group of people who were from a local agency I often walk past, a place for mentally challenged adults in a wide range of ages. As I walked past them one of the older people in the group came directly up to me with a big smile and coke bottle glasses. The two people watching the group started to rudely yell at him. AS he approached me he looked me in the eyes and put out his hand with a big smile, he just wanted to shake hands. It was a moment I cant explain because I looked into his eyes and I got a sense that he knew he was trapped in a certain world and it was like he was reaching out into the "other world" In his eyes there was not a single hidden thing, he was just a wide open book, simple and pure and smiling. He just wanted to shake hands with someone. As I walked away it was like my channel had changed. I couldnt stop thinking of looking into eyes that seemed to just be exactly what they were, no hidden panels, no sliding doors or deception. I couldnt stop and cant stop thinking that maybe it isnt such a curse to be in the place that he is at because as I journey my life through the streets of Manhattan I see the eyes of worry, of stress, of hurry. All I know is it changed my entire day. I still remember the person in charge of the group yelling at him...all he wanted to do was shake hands with a stranger. God bless that guy.