" triple-tangent "

---

" more than one way to skin a cat "

i met and had lunch with a man today named bishop james chan. he told the most peculiar (disturbing?) story to me at the table which had me speechless for a second. it went something like this:

' so once i was doing this missionary work in the jungle, near the border of burma with these tribesman. and you know these people were coming through that ate everything. i don't know where they were from, but they ate everything: crocodiles, cats, dogs, monkeys. it was strange.

one night these travelers decided to play a trick on one of the guys who disliked the idea of eating those animals. they found a stray cat and skinned it. then we gutted, cleaned, chopped up, and made the cat into this delicious curry.

when we all sat down to dinner, he ate the most of the dish, and of course he had no idea what he was eating, but he loved it.

three days later, we told him that he had eaten a cat.'

here, bishop james chan laughed a deep laugh and his eyes fixed in a beady glaze. just what the hell was the point of that little tale of culinary deception? i believe i will never find out.

if he were not such a sweet man at lunch and afterwards, i would've been a little more scared.

---

" skytrain a waiting "

discovering someone in a public place. waiting for someone to show up. having them find you sitting there, or standing. the reaction, and perhaps the anger. but always the eyes telling tales.

waiting for someone on a stone bench. the trains going by, and a thousand people shuffling past; no one knows who you are. you are a stranger to all, and do not exist.

filling time with thoughts. unconscious choice to vibrate feet, small precise movements of self-grooming in anticipation, smiling to yourself, checking other people out.

staring at maps, at diagrams, at charts on the wall. displays of information telling you all the things you will never need to ever know; lost, everyone lost. and together. clutching bags and disappointed.

many strangers converging upon each other in close proximity. all carrying glimmers of shared destinations. small touches. glances, inner glow.

---

" thoughts to knowhere "

on mad girls at the railing and defensive, late guys:

sometimes it's amazing how much frustration can build up in anticipation of something, and how a person with good intentions can be instantly forgiven upon slight and brief explanations.

on cutting your finger, deep and with a sharp x-acto knife:

when the pointer finger finds itself lacerated and out of commission, it's the middle finger's turn to shine!

---