While I was waiting at Union Station, on my way home from San Diego last week, I noticed a very striking woman sitting in the seat across from me. "I'm going to shut that door," she explained, and walked across the tiles to close it. She had short, grey hair, styled in a chic haircut that suited the shape of her face perfectly. Her eyes blazed with intelligence. She was extremely beautiful, and right away I wondered if she had been a professional dancer.
I asked her a question, and we quickly got into an animated conversation. My impression of her was correct, she had studied ballet at two of the finest schools in the country: Harkness Ballet, and ABT School. She told me that she was in town with The Self Realization Fellowship. I answered that a friend of mine was very involved with them, and that they were probably attending the same conference. They do a lot of meditation. She had a very bright aura, and was brimming with enthusiasm. Like me, she loved to travel, and found it exciting and energizing. We sat and people watched, and I pointed out an etherial looking elderly woman, who was walking slowly through the waiting room, with perfect posture. "Elegant," she agreed. When you travel on your own, you notice the other women who are traveling alone.
She raved about the hostel near Union Station, where she was staying. She described her quad, which she was sharing with three other women. It was very clean and comfortable. The rate was only $79.00 a night, which is excellent for downtown Los Angeles. She had just eaten lunch at a restaurant around the corner. She told me that they hire the homeless and trains them as chefs. I had read an article about that program in a magazine recently, and told her about it. She was highly impressed with the food and the presentation. I had seen the photos, and it looked very upscale. I agreed, it sounded like an excellent program.
We talked about ballet. She got out of it because she couldn't take all of the fighting. I nodded, sympathetically. For whatever reason, there seems to be a lot of infighting in the ballet world. All of that talent, competition, and perfection can create a stormy environment, in many cases. She was hired to dance in the ballet company at Radio City Music Hall, but her father insisted that she go to college. She did things his way, graduated, and became a flight attendant. She asked me about my dance career, and got very excited when I mentioned the shows that I had done. It made me realize how fortunate I had been that my parents didn't insist on my going to college. They let me go to LA and try to make it as a dancer. They even let me have my great uncle's 1967 Chevrolet Bel Aire. I had been riding around on a Yamahopper moped that I had bought with my teaching money. It only went 30 mph, but it got me to school, work, and to my dance classes.
I remember my father saying that if I could support myself, I could be a dancer. He didn't know if I would be able to or not. "What's support yourself?" I had asked him. "That means that you can pay your own bills," he replied. "Oh, okay." I had answered.
I could tell by looking at her that she definitely could have had a successful professional career. Instead, she married and moved to beautiful San Diego. Her face radiated love, excitement, and passion. It made me realize that you can meet people that you don't even know, and feel closer to them than many of those in your daily circle. So much of our connection to others has to do with common interests and pursuits.
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