What else?

Me, Walking by the Berlin Wall in the Memorial Park

Artwork on Berlin Wall at East Side Gallery

What else?   

Graffiti on Wall at East Side Gallery, Berlin

Something else I wasn't looking for, and saw in Berlin?

I saw a sleeping, homeless man. Curled up, on the steps, in the corner of a doorway.  He had a few bulging plastic bags, a rolled up mat or rug, wearing several layers of raggedy clothes.  Including two hats pulled down, as far as possible, over his eyes.  His knees were pulled up close to his body, his arms were hugging his chest, hands under his armpits.

Part of a Picture of Jan's and Ann's
(Apartment Heidi is renting) 

I saw a young couple, holding arms at the elbows, looking into a jewelry store window, speaking in a low whisper.

I saw a young man, tall and dangerously thin.  He was staggering, midday, wearing too little clothes for the weather.  His eyes appeared blank as he walked with an aimless gait.

A Child Dressed as Santa,
The Father is Adjusting the Bike

I saw an older man stand up in a grossly, overcrowded bus, to give an elderly woman his seat.

Yellow Tram, Running Through the Streets

I saw a middle-aged man wearing a black, wool coat, opened in the front so I could see his dark, business suit, underneath.  He had placed himself in a corner, by the cement walls in the subway, at the bottom of a long staircase.  He was playing his guitar and singing.  He had his hat sitting on the filthy, damp floor, with a few coins in it.  He sang as if he were alone, in a warm room.  He gave no eye contact to the steady stream of commuters, quickly walking by him, to catch their train.

I saw a young mother, sitting with her 4 to 5 year old daughter.  She was busy texting.  This animated, little girl, imitated her mother's every motion, pretending to have a cell-phone in her hand, too.  She chatted to her mother. The only response, I noticed, was an annoyed mother, chastising her daughter, too busy to play on their bus trip.

Little Boy in A Cafe, Waiting for His Parents
(Hoping they'll get after him/her)

I saw an old man with a cane.  Stooped over from arthritis, carrying a bag of food in his empty hand.  He was walking as fast as his body would take him, across the intersection.  Trying to get to the other side of the road, before the walking-light blinked red.

I walked by a young woman, talking to herself as she walked down the sidewalk.  She maintained a two-way conversation with herself, one angry, the other submissive.

I saw three men, of varying ages, singing a Spanish or Cuban-sounding songs.  They stood against a fence on the top of a busy, walking bridge.  This bridge connected two sides of the city over the train system below. They smiled, made gestures to go with their song and kept up their lively concert in the rain. A constant traffic of pedestrians hurried by.  One man was playing a small bongo drum, another strumming a guitar, and the third man, playing a flute or recorder.  He'd stop playing the instrument randomly, to add his energetic voice to the tempo of the song.

Another Art Piece, in Jan's and Ann's Apartment

I saw a little girl, snuggled up to her mother on the city bus.  She was dressed for the wet weather in her bright yellow boots.  Her mother was energetically reading her a story from the book on her lap, stopping whenever her daughter asked her a question or wanted to talk about a picture in the book.

Two, middle-aged women were digging their hands. into a sidewalk trash can.  They each held a plastic bag on their wrist with empty bottles.  They talked in a casual tone of voice to each other, as they went about their rummaging.

I saw two little boys, (under seven years old) alone, setting off firecrackers at a neighborhood playground. Jumping and laughing when they exploded.

I visited a concentration camp at Sachsenhausen, finding it hard to swallow.

Written in Memory by the Gas Chambers

While I was traveling on a bus, I heard a woman, with straggly, gray hair, yell at a young muslim girl.  She pushed the humiliated, girl out of her way, as she berated her.  A young man wearing a backpack, standing by the exit door, gave the old woman a piece of his mind, for her behavior, before she angrily stepped down to the sidewalk.

I saw a very young boy, walking down the sidewalk with his father.  He was proudly sharing the weight of carrying his little car-seat with his dad, both engrossed in a conversation.

I saw myself, melting into the busy city.  Content to be a part of this ever-evolving world.

Heidi Was Patiently Taking my Photo by the Christmas Bulbs

Happy Birthday, Maggie!

My Adopted, Christmas Daughter, Kat Posing With Me
(She has dual citizenship-Irish and Australian)