Leslie

Since yesterday mid-morning/afternoon I've been feeling down. It swamped me last night and while I expected my hopes to be raised when I woke up in the morning, this was not the case. I still went about my usual routine, with the addition of a 40 minute work-out.
However, after I got off the subway and purchased some Dunkin' Donuts, I caught a glimpse of Leslie. Leslie is a homeless woman I met 5 years ago, she used to come into my work and spout off about who was out to get her and who she was suing. She would purchase stuffed grape leaves with loose change.
Apparently (as I was told), she had been a lawyer with schizophrenic inclinations who had gone off her medication. She left her home, where she believed people would find her and capture her, and began to live on the streets--carting her possessions around in a shopping cart.
I remember once that she gave me a loaf of bread, telling me to hide it so "they" wouldn't find out. She also once took my work hat off of my head to examine my eyes; she told me they were beautiful. She was fascinated.
Seeing her today gave me a sudden immense sense of comfort. That she was still alive, still looked the same, still just doing her thing. Somehow she represented a kind of consistency in life. Somehow, this woman who used to wash herself in my work's public restroom, sent waves of comfort and calm through my internal system.