Syracuse, NY — For our last in class writing assignment in New 605 (newswriting) we had to go out into the city and observe a scene or person. We couldn’t ask questions or take pictures. All we could do was observe, take notes and return to lab to write a story about what we saw (all in less than 2 hours). Here’s what I observed:
Car engines and police sirens muffle the sound of a construction crane lurching and grinding somewhere in the distance. An old woman sits outside a busy hospital on a wooden bench. Injury, heartache and illness are all around her and yet she sits alone and smiles this Monday morning.
A man driving a rusted green minivan pulls up to Crouse Hospital and stops abruptly. His passengers pile out into the street, yelling. Neither the driver nor the passengers notice the small, white haired woman smiling at them. The van door slams shut.
Her teeth are stained yellow. Some are missing around the edges of her mouth. As she smiles, the deep lines in her cheeks look like rings from a cross section of an ancient tree.
High humidity and streaks of sunlight bake the wet black pavement. Small clouds of moisture float up from the ground. Dressed in a bright pink sweater and green pants the woman stretches out her arm and points at the clouds. She smiles harder. More rings appear on her face.
Two young men, one on a cell phone, walk by. They are wearing white coats. The woman follows them with her eyes as they disappear through the hospitals clear sliding doors. Sitting perfectly still, she only turns her neck to watch. The loose skin around her jaw hangs like a magicians sleeve.
A worried young girl exits the hospital. She places her hand on the woman’s shoulders, leans over and whispers something in her ear. Whatever the girl said did not erase the smile from the woman’s face. She helps the woman up from the bench. They walk down the street.
A green and white Ambulance speeds out of the parking lot with sirens blaring.
- east coast paper boy
Tags: crouse hospital, excersise, grad school, graduate school, j school, journalism school, new york, newhouse, ny, syracuse
