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Stories from Around the World
The Shining : A Story of a Shoe Shine Man
A bus station.
A train station.
An outdoor mall with a wet floor.
Icey.
Slippery.
Looks cold.
It’s a rainy day.
It’s winter.
The shoe shine man shines shoes.
Maybe he is homeless.
See his black plastic bags.
Filled with his personal belongings.
A blanket.
A coat.
A wool jacket.
Anything.
“Hurry up” says the man smoking a pipe.
The man is high class.
Sitting.
Relaxing.
“Thumbs down” a woman says to his pipe smoking.
She scrunches her nose.
She doesn’t like his pipe.
She doesn’t like the smell.
“How much will I get?”
Thinks the shoe shine man.
“You’ll get five”.
Says a passerby, showing his fist.
The shoe shiner looks up at the man smoking a pipe.
He wonders.
Am I doing a good enough job?
Will the man want the other shoe shined, too?
Everyone is running.
Trying to find an exit.
It’s morning.
The sun is shining.
The man with the pipe is hesitant.
Questioning.
What could the 2 black, plastic bags be for?
A bomb?
“No, it’s not a bomb”.
Just the shoe shine man’s belongings.
In 2 black, plastic bags.
At the bus station.
Everyone is getting out of town.
It’s 20 years ago.
Maybe the shoe shine man is homeless.
But, he is clean.
With nice shoes and good pants.
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TIMESLIPS #1
The Shining : A Story of a Shoe Shine Man
Poem created on Monday, August 29, 2016
Elderday, Santa Cruz, CA
Participants - Patty, Niki, Michiko, Josephine, Susan, Donna,
Jack, Herb, and Roosevelt
Presenter & writer - Diane Grunes
Scriber - Sheradon
Support - Kathleen
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