***
Old blues musician. Carrying a full-band sound in his keyboard. Close your eyes and you can hear them playing in a smoky bar. Open your eyes. Crowded subway platform. Anticipation in the air. Hurricane bearing down. Must prepare. Stress palpable in rest of station; on stairs. All have blinders on, no regard for others. Scurrying. Must prepare! But this old man, by himself, has tamed the crowd. He finishes one song and says it wasn't quite right, he's working on it. But it was everything it should be. The air is lighter, smiles appear. People look around at their fellow travelers. Nod. We're all in this together. We'll make it through. Weave your way to the old man. Drop a dollar into his hat. It's already full. Thank you. Thank you.
***
We are driving along the Thames. The sky is heavy with storm clouds. Husband in the back seat with me, friends in the front. We're on our way to an outing in the countryside. But the ominous sky is casting a green pallor over the stone city and I know something is afoot. Then I spot them, in the churning river water: huge black sperm whales, roiling in the surf created by the storm wind. So many of them! I am awed and yet I know it means things are dire. As we all marvel at the sight and speed along I see something else emerging from the water. Some sort of godzilla-type creature. Prehistoric, gigantic, aggressive. Instead of going for the whales I see it veer towards us. Luckily our car can also fly and we quickly take off. But we're slow and haven't reached much altitude yet. The massive mouth is open and headed straight towards the back window. I'm now cringing against the backseat but my husband somehow doesn't realize his head is visible in the back window. I lurch forward, screaming for him to get down, pushing his head at the same time. The monster lunges at the car but we're just out of reach. Headed towards blue skies and an outing in the English countryside.
