There were other passengers, businessmen, with their giveaway business suits and attache cases.  And there were vacationers, in casual dress, with tote bags at their feet.  Riding the airport bus may not be comfortable, but it does allow thoughts to wander freely.  Businessmen may rehearse an upcoming sales encounter, the vacationer may picture beaches, others may anticipate a reunion with a relative.  But this one man, gazing out the window, was different.  His movements were gracefully disconnected from any apprehension or anticipation.

It's fun to imagine what people are thinking, and to wonder how they feel about life.  I look for subtle movements that may indicate attitudes.  Are there universals, such as when a young man's gaze encounters and dwells upon a passing young woman?  Or when an old man's gaze does the same?  I look for interactions, and overhear conversations.

This man didn't seem interested in interactions.  His gaze out the window was oblivious to those around him.  His thoughts, whatever they were, only came into the bus when a cramped leg had to be rearranged against the seatback.  But, I ask, what excuse can anybody have for being bored at the beginning of a trip, especially in an airplane?  There are so many beautiful clouds, and interesting land forms to see.  It's a time to relax and enjoy, not turn within.  Yet this man was bored, as if he had no interest in what the immediate future had for him.

Suddenly, he came alive!  We had just entered a segment of freeway where a hillside obstructed our view of traffic, houses, and an expansive view of LA.  He sat upright, and stared directly at the hillside.  There was no particular part of the hillside that could have been the focus of his attention, because it was passing by too fast, providing fast changing views.  What was it about this hillside that begged attention?  Old tangled trees, some bushes, and grass?  The hillside was there for only a few seconds.  Just as soon as it had passed, replaced by a wide expanse of LA, the traveler seemed to be still looking out at the hillside.  Gradually, though, he returned to his previous disinterested demeaner.

One can speculate about the significance of an unkempt stretch of hillside in the middle of a large city.  What might be the state of mind of a business traveler at the beginning of another trip?  Could he be bored with his business mission?  Could the hillside represent where he'd prefer to be going?  Could the hillside have reminded him of the past?  Was the traveler just a simple "country boy" at heart?  Perhaps the hillside reminded the traveler of the kind of place where he'd like his children to grow up.

I suspect these were the things that the hillside meant to him.  I believe this is true, because later, in the airplane, the enigmatic traveler wrote a brief account of what the hillside meant to him.
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This site opened:  October 30, 1998.   Last Update: October 30, 1998