:(

There are so many weird and sad people in the world, and a lot of the time you don't see them because they are either crying in their bedrooms or you are too busy checking your iPhone to notice.

The other day I was in the food court of an airport of all places and there was a woman there playing the flute rather poorly over really horrible canned muzak. She was really frumpy but she had clearly dressed up for the occasion with black slacks and this weird psychedelic silk shirt. Her husband was there too, just sitting next to her waiting to change the muzak CD.

I don't know why stuff like this always gets to me. Maybe it's a family thing. Caleb, for instance, still can't pass a Sleepy's without thinking of the sad employee he met there like two years ago, who seemed to have no hope and no happiness sitting in an endless room of mattresses. I guess I just feel that subtle hardship-- like being lonely, unappreciated, or awkward-- can sometimes be more difficult to stomach than show-stopping hardship.

As I sat there listening to her finale of "Climb Every Mountain" end with no applause I could not help but feel overwhelmed with sadness. I almost couldn't enjoy my Cinnabon.

Soon it was time to go to the gate, so I took one last forlorn look at the scene and melodramatically checked my e-mail two more times. My heart was torn to shreds.