PlatKat.com: <a name="Ryan">Before You Destroy Me with Your Eyebeams, Remember the Good Times</a>

Thursday, June 07, 2007

Before You Destroy Me with Your Eyebeams, Remember the Good Times

I was headed west on 33rd when I saw him. Crossing Broadway in New York City alongside hundreds of other people in broad daylight, I spotted one of my best friends from college. I hadn't seen him in seven years, but I knew it was him right away.

I was crossing Broadway in the opposite direction, surrounded by people, spacing out... Then I glanced up and saw a ruddy-faced, fair-haired guy in his mid-twenties. He was alone and walking fast, eyes pointed, annoyed as hell that all these fucking assholes were clogging up 33rd and Broadway when he had to be somewhere. He was wearing one of those slightly wrinkled plaid shirts he used to wear whenever we were going out somewhere. The walk, the look, the shirt... I would have bet my last dollar it was him.

I looked right at him. He didn't know it was me, as I was hidden behind my very large, stylish sunglasses. When we met eyes (well, when he saw me, another person in his goddamn way), I was completely dumbfounded. Before I could determine whether or not to say anything, he had passed. I walked a few more yards, trying to decide if I should run back across the street and try to catch him. Then I realized that by the time I could reach any type of conclusion, there would be no way I'd find him, so I just walked around the city slack-jawed for another hour.

I knew he was living here. He moved here for some gig in PR or advertising a long time ago. It makes perfect sense for him to be out and about in that part of town at lunchtime on a weekday.

I can't believe I blew it. THIS is the meat of life. Dramatic moments like this are what I live for. I like drama. Not drama like "So-and-so is mad at you because you said this and her boyfriend got into a barfight with your boyfriend..." I mean uplifting drama—surprising, exciting drama. And I can't help but think how beautifully serendipitous it would have been to shout his name, have him look at me like, "What the fuck?" and take off my sunglasses to reveal my identity. And then we'd hug and arrange to have dinner another day.

So, it looks like my seize-the-momentinator is broken. Le sigh...

No, I'm not going to post this in the "Missed Connections" section on craigslist or the Village Voice. We're a lot alike, and I'm sure his view of those personals reflect mine: I'm way too busy to mess with something like that, but even if I had all the time in the world, I still wouldn't rummage through that tripe in hopes that some random fart-knocker out there noticed me and thought I was hot. It's like finding a needle in a haystack. Why waste your time when you can go out and buy a needle?

But I wouldn't put it past him to google himself. We're both pretty vain too. So, Ryan Christopher, alumnus of Louisiana State University, majoring in Mass Communication with a specialization in Advertising, former KVRX DJ, hailing from Slidell, Louisiana... I know you're out there, and I saw you. Tag, you're it.

posted by platkat @ 12:02 PM