Oh boy(s). Tristan, Claudio, Andrea, Pigu + Vadin and Brad

Last weekend I met…a gaggle of charming young men. : )

[As a side note: I am happy to announce that I recently became engaged. : ) Maybe I’ll take a picture of a pretty ring while I’m riding the subway and post it… Anyway, the point is: I was nevertheless quite charmed by all of the pictured men. Good company all of them. Great company, in fact.]

So here’s the story:

I was in a rush to get somewhere, and I sort of thought onthetwo was going to have to wait. It’s funny how that happens. When you’re in a rush and stressed out, it seems like there isn’t time…for talking to people, for making eye contact, for breathing, for doing much of anything besides looking at your watch, like saying hello and connecting with people will somehow slow you down, and anxiously monitoring the numbers on your watch will somehow make them change more slowly. Or maybe it’s just me. (In which case, I suddenly feel foolish. Well, I guess I already felt foolish. But now foolish, and alone. Wonderful.)

I’m rambling. Back to the story:

So I get on the train. I’m standing at one end, and down at the other end, I see the adorable Andrea taking pictures with his phone. I laugh to myself, as my first thought is, “Must be tourists. Who takes pictures on the train?!?” I know, I know. How do you like irony?

Before I could think too much about it, I sidled my way down to the other end of the train and heard myself explaining onthetwo, handing out cards and telling Andrea I had to feature him, as he was the only other person I’d ever seen taking pictures on the train. As I rambled on, the guy sitting to the right of Andrea looked over with the sweetest, most wonderfully interested eyes I’ve seen in some time. Of course, I had to get him in on the game as well. So, the next thing I knew, I had not one, but four, dashing gentlemen telling me about themselves. And now I’ll share…

From left to right:

Tristan. Tristan just moved to Manhattan from North Carolina. His favorite movie is The Devil Wears Prada and his favorite food is salmon. What Tristan wants to tell you is: “I want some new friends!” He’s new in Manhattan, and doesn’t know anybody yet…check out his myspace page: myspace.com/tristanroderick Seriously. I may have only spent five or ten minutes with him, but it was enough time to know he is great. Look him up. Go get some salmon with him!

Claudio. Claudio (and Andrea and Pigu) was visiting from Italy. I didn’t catch his favorite movie, probably because we got a little caught up discussing his favorite food. For the record, it is steak a la fiorentina. Funny thing. Or me being uncultured, which I prefer to think of as amusing. I couldn’t get the “fiorentina” part. Poor Claudio kept saying it, and I kept saying, “Furrrrwhat? Foreennee? F, O?” Finally, Kris (with a K), the poor girl sitting on the other side of Tristan trying to quietly read her book, chimed in. “Fiorentina. F-i-o-r-e-n-t-i-n-a.” Thank you Kris. (Hey now. I’m a vegetarian, I don’t know about fiorentina. Or something. )

Anyway, moving on. The thing Claudio wanted to say to you: “Find me an apartment in New York!” Apparently he has had a good trip.

Andrea. Andrea’s favorite movie is Minority Report, and his favorite food is lasagna. He is the adorable man who was taking the pictures. If I wasn’t engaged… Well. Andrea’s message for the world is short and sweet: “Peace.”

And Pigu. Pigu’s favorite movie is The Direct Line and his favorite food is sushi. I asked him what his favorite part of New York was, and he told me it was girls like me. Whoooooooo. I try. : ) What he wants to tell you: “Pigu is pigu.” He laughed a devilish little laugh and said that "pigu means something." According to google, it’s a dessert in Italian, and something else in Mandarin…so. Take what you will.

In trying to get back far enough to get all four of my new friends in the picture, I sort of bumped into Vadin and Brad with my shoulder bag. I apologized, and a stop later, after the fabulous four had got off the train, I gave the two of them cards and we started talking onthetwo. They’re both from Florida, and we talked a while about regional differences in this country, and about the importance, or not, of where you’re from and where you end up. Good thoughts. I didn’t really ask the onthetwo questions…sorry. Sometimes lifey talk gets in the way of prescribed interview talk, you know? Time and a place. I almost didn’t take a picture either, as I thought four new onthetwo friends might be enough for one train ride. But then I thought better of it. See below, Vadin on the left, Brad on the right.


I learned something Saturday.

I guess I already knew, but sometimes- okay, often times- I need a reminder. Being kind and enjoying the company of those with whom we share out world does not in fact slow you down. Time just keeps on ticking, same as always, no matter what. When life is slow or when it is fast, when things look sunny or when they look gray, when we feel like things are happening the way we want or not, I think JT says it best: The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time…It’s just a lovely ride.