Spring Break

For spring break I went to San Diego with my family. We rented a house on the boardwalk of Pacific Beach. I would sit on our front patio for hours on end just watching the endless train of people walk by. These are not the same type of people that one could see sitting at the mall or even in an airport. For some reason this boardwalk attracts some of the most interesting people I have ever seen or met. Whenever I made eye contact with a passerby I would be friendly and say "Hi!" followed by whatever comment felt appropriate for that person. Some people would ignore me completely and others I actually became "friends" with and we talked for a while! There was no bias to who I talked to, but one person will stay in my mind forever. The people of Mission Bay call him "Slomo". This comes from his daily ritual of skating down the boardwalk every day on rollerblades, in slow motion! His actual name is Dr. John Kitchen. As I was people watching off of our porch, he happened to fall and I went to help him up, and offered him a drink. He accepted and we chatted for a while enjoying a couple beers as the sun went down. I inquired about his life story leading him to become "Slomo" and was thoroughly surprised by all of it. All in all, the memory of me sitting on the patio with this man enjoying the people watching (with one of the primary persons watched!) and meeting a new friend will stay with me forever.

For more info on "Slomo"

http://legacy.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050912/news_1m12jenkins.html