People on the Parkway (updated continuously)

People I’ve seen on the Ben Franklin Parkway walking to and from work (updated as frequently as called for):

• A woman riding a bike with rubber bands around the ankle of her pants (It was a terribly windy day. I consider her innovative).

• An older gentleman valet at a fancy hotel waving and saying “Good morning!” to all the commuters scurrying by everyday (This makes me think my day won’t be—can’t be—all bad).

• A man in a black sweatshirt and new sneakers sitting on a bench with another man clad in a quilt with a long gray beard (One was homeless, one had new sneakers, but in that moment, the best adjective I could find to describe both was human).

• A man wearing the same cologne as an ex-boyfriend.

• Ash Wednesday: Woman in her early 60s (?), standing across the street from the Basilica, ashes smeared across forehead, 7-Eleven soda cup in one hand, cigarette dangling in her other (I found the ashes on forehead and in her hand connection fortuitous).

• Two children in Love Park blowing bubbles (I walked through a cloud of these spheres of pure joy after a particularly tough day and smiled at humanity).

• Is that a coworker? (Yes. Confirmed when he entered the same office as me.)