Thursday, May 1, 2008

How ins"tire"ing


So today I dropped my car off to get it inspected (fingers crossed that it passes!). One of the mechanics drove me back to work and we listened to Sublime and got a little chummy. He is from Puerto Rico and we talked about the weather (how typical!) but it was nice to hear his spin on our climate...his appreciation for its variation, although he is pretty sure he will never really get used to it. It was also interesting that in the 5 minutes we spent together he mentioned his wife, his children, and his sisters. It just goes to show where his priorities are and it was refreshing to say the least. When he spoke about his family, he spoke in the present; even when he mentioned something about his sister that happened 16 years ago. I found this pretty fascinating...it seemed as though he lived in the moment, that memories to him were a part of a current flow of things, of things happening, not of those which have happened. Little did he know, but I really did learn something from our short conversation. He didn't say anything particularly inspiring, or particularly interesting, for that matter, but what he did say was meaningful to him and very present in his words and demeanor. He appreciated his family, his life, and they all really seemed to be a part of him. So much so that he spoke about his life like it was now, not then...because well, I guess it is. He seemed to embody the whole live in the moment thing and I was glad to have been exposed to that. That's the great thing about people. They give you perspective because they are perspective, you know? People's views are contagious and it's nice to see it take all shapes. It comes in so many forms, even a greased-up "tire guy" as he so honestly put it, can unknowingly inspire things in other people.

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