On the days I cycle into work, past the Head of the River pub, dodging buses past Christchurch college, I pass a man who stands like a statue outside of the police station and he has a sign hanging around his neck.
If I slow down and focus, I can see the words he’s written on his sign about his dog being taken from him. I wonder how many days this man has been without his best friend, and how many days he has stood there, and for how long, and what about his job - before cycling past him to dodge pedestrians who use roads like pavements.
I know this is a story waiting for me. Every time I pass him, I am reminded that I need to sit down with him and write. Perhaps because I recently got a dog of my own, who is partly my child-replacement and part my closest being who follows me around all day. Would I be where that man is now if it happened to me?
Yesterday, I cycled past an old church and a coffin was coming out of its car in front of a bus stop of people waiting to go into Oxford. It reminded me of C.S. Lewis’ fictional imagining of what happens to us after death - The Great Divorce - where we wait at a bus stop. If you haven’t read it, do! It’s mind-opening.
There are stories all around us, waiting to be told.
These micro-moments, micro-snapshots into someone else's life are diamonds in the rough. What we notice or see when we travel usually says something about us too. What gets our attention are the people and stories that resonate with us on some level, which chime an internal bell, calling us to attention. They also provide us with rich, unique stories that stop us from falling into cliché and overused narratives.
The question is - will you answer the call?
Your prompt
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