dancing man

On my way home this morning after running a couple errands I saw a man dancing on the sidewalk. As I drove past I saw an elderly man dressed in black from head to toe and on his head he was wearing a derby.


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This man lifted my spirits as he zig zagged along the side walk, threw up some high kicks, and spun around. I had some time before my next engagement so after a moment of entertaining the thought I decided I wanted to see more of this man.

I made a u-turn and watched the man dance on the opposite side of the street and then made another turn and watched the man dance on the same side of the street. I watched him in my rear view mirror, partly wanting to pull over and speak with him.

I wondered if this man was simply happy and unashamed and uninhibited or if he was mentally ill. I wanted to know his story, where he lived and what he did with his time aside from dancing and if he danced often.

I work with mentally ill adults five days a week and I thought this man might fit the description of so many I have worked with. I don't know, I will never know. What I do know for sure is that he brought a smile to my face. I thank him.