Just another day in the life!

I wanted nothing more than to escape. Just blend into the background noise and attend the Philly Auto Show, grab a cheesesteak at Ricks and relax.

1. As I approached a table at Ricks, a group of older ladies were leaving. As I sat down I spied a purse that one of the ladies had obviously left behind. I jumped up, left my food sitting, and tracked her down in the Reading Terminal Market to return her purse. Thanks and gratitude, a hug, etc. Back to lunch, thankfully my food was still there.

2. As I was leaving Ricks I saw a large crowd of people, a camera man and some very serious looking guys in suites with little curly wires hanging out of their ears. It wasn't until I got closer that I realized it was our newly elected Philly Mayor, Michael Nutter, making his way through Reading Terminal Market. I stopped, got in the "handshake line" and greeted him. I told him how proud we were of him and his stand on making Philly a safer place to live, work and play. He smiled, thanked me and moved onto the next greeting.

3. At the Philly Auto Show I walked passed a twenty-something couple carrying a toddler. The toddler began to choke and something told me to STOP and pay attention, I did. She was gasping for breath. Her fathter held her upside-down and began to tap her back, her mother was frantic. The father was having a difficult time holding her and trying to free the obstruction that was choking her at the same time. The mother was not helping. The child was turning blue. I walked up and offered to help by squeezing the toddlers abdomen from the sides in a modified heimlich-type move. Out popped a piece of hard candy from the little girls mouth. She started crying, screaming actually. I knew from her wailing that all was well. She was comforted by both parents as they rushed off to a restroom to get her cleaned up. She was breathing again. Life is good!

I disappeared into the crowd of onlookers and headed toward the vast display of automobiles. I wanted to escape. I needed to blend.

I wish that I could say, "it was just another day in the life of a storyteller." But, thats not true. It was one of those days when life's stories just engulf you. A day to remember? Yes. A day to tell about? Yes. A story? Absolutely!

On the train ride back home I rested. Leaning my head back into the seat I was finally able to blend into the background noise as I watched Philly pass by. The rowhouses blurred into the playgrounds and abandoned cars as the train sped toward suburbia. Closing my eyes, I finally escaped. That thirtyfive minute train ride home was the most relaxing part of my day.

DJM