I was recently on the subway; traveling to work one morning in my usual AM haze. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a fellow sitting a few feet away from me. He was definitely not on his way to work: somewhere in between stinky bum sleeping across the entire row of seats and weird guy on his way to his job as a professional swindler selling snake oil. I saw him look at me for a few seconds...look down....look at me a few seconds...look down... This went on for a few minutes. Since everyone is trained not to look weirdness in the eye for fear it will channel its energy upon you (especially in a moving subway car where you are trapped until the next stop) I held out as long as possible. However, when someone is noticeably staring at you, one wonders if there is a rogue booger, bug, or the like on one's face. I looked at the man and noticed that he was drawing my profile. Definitely no Renoir, but more on par with a high school art student with high aspirations. He asked which stop I was getting off, and I immediately said the next stop regardless of having to wait for the next train to get to my final destination. I was not going to spend another half hour waiting for Rembrant to finish his charcoal sketch. As I exited the subway he handed me my portrait and let me know that donations would be appreciated. Well, considering this is the artistic equivalent of getting ambushed by squeegee men while in your car (and I only had a $20 bill) he remained empty handed and one piece of paper lighter. Flattering, yet intensely creepy.
The Subway Stalker...just tryin to make a buck
I was recently on the subway; traveling to work one morning in my usual AM haze. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a fellow sitting a few feet away from me. He was definitely not on his way to work: somewhere in between stinky bum sleeping across the entire row of seats and weird guy on his way to his job as a professional swindler selling snake oil. I saw him look at me for a few seconds...look down....look at me a few seconds...look down... This went on for a few minutes. Since everyone is trained not to look weirdness in the eye for fear it will channel its energy upon you (especially in a moving subway car where you are trapped until the next stop) I held out as long as possible. However, when someone is noticeably staring at you, one wonders if there is a rogue booger, bug, or the like on one's face. I looked at the man and noticed that he was drawing my profile. Definitely no Renoir, but more on par with a high school art student with high aspirations. He asked which stop I was getting off, and I immediately said the next stop regardless of having to wait for the next train to get to my final destination. I was not going to spend another half hour waiting for Rembrant to finish his charcoal sketch. As I exited the subway he handed me my portrait and let me know that donations would be appreciated. Well, considering this is the artistic equivalent of getting ambushed by squeegee men while in your car (and I only had a $20 bill) he remained empty handed and one piece of paper lighter. Flattering, yet intensely creepy.
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that picture is horrible yikes
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