While brainstorming possible post topics … all my mind can stick to is this dumpy 50-ish woman who I saw today, pacing in front of South Station and bawling “Ok, I’m stupid! Yeah, I’m stupid! I’m stupid!” over and over again into a bulky cell phone held with a clumsy grasp. I was embarrassed to witness her public spectacle amid the flurry of the afternoon rush hour commute, but also fascinated by her banal cotton slacks, stiff plastic raincoat, flat Payless shoes, and wind-tossed perm – the trademarks of an unassuming person who literally lives to avoid drama and scrutiny. Small pauses spaced out each self-proclamation of stupidity. Was she berating herself for forgiveness? Agreeing with her rebuker? Sincere? Sarcastic? Nuts?
I’m obsessively turning her over in my mind, picking her apart, speculating on her situation. Lady, whoever you are, you aren’t stupid. You are a most glorious, pure expression of humanity’s turmoil in a world where so much of reality is scripted, rehearsed, hyped, and performed. You are the diametrical opposite of Jenna Jameson publicly endorsing Hillary Clinton.
