As a messenger, I was witness to the daily curiosity that is humanity. While the average person might only catch
a glimpse of the bare minimum of the world around them including, but not limited to, the span between home
and office, the span between office and lunch, and finally the span between office and home, I saw everything from the masses’ arrival at work, to transients hustling change, to the delivery of the zoo’s new albino tiger, and everything in between. It was as if I had the daily opportunity to look at the entire city from atop a gigantic microscope.
I knew how many times the walk signal flashed before the light changed. I knew the codes to dozens of buildings and on what floor the bathrooms were located, and best of all, I knew where all of the most attractive of my clients worked.
To say that a messenger has their finger on the pulse of the city is an understatement. A more appropriate description would be that we resided within the city’s heart. As I grew to become more observant, the more spectacles
I enjoyed being the audience of. Two occurrences that I remember distinctly were an old black man, sitting perched atop a fire hydrant, a cigar in one hand and a magnifying glass in the other. The sun was directed perfectly, and
purposefully at the stogie’s tip, and as it began to smolder, the man’s face was one of eager anticipation. The other was nothing but a picture of efficiency. A road weary looking homeless man stood facing me, but with his head turned down, paying close attention to an activity directly in front of him. As I grew closer, I noticed that he was
in the process of washing his hands not from a rainspout or drinking fountain, but rather, a stream of his own urine.
The image bounced through my skull with lightning speed, finally settling deep within the soft confines
of my grey matter and I marveled once again at the good fortune to be one of a select few to see such a sight.
Every morning the curtains came up, and as the miles clicked off under the wheels of my bike, I was a willing member of a swirling audience partaking in the greatest show on earth.