Mark Phillips' Pages: Workbook: 10/20/12: Haight Street bus stop.

Jacob Lawrence, "Street Scene" (1961) — Jacob Lawrence, *Street Scene* (1961)

October 20, 2012:

Haight Street bus stop. Small man in backward baseball cap, gym suit, wired, possibly tweaked, throwing air punches on the sidewalk, nervous crowd backing away, leaving him space. Notices a tall man leaning against the wall, book in hand, messy black hair, gray sports jacket, paying no mind.

"Whatta you - weak?" Small man to tall man, machoburger challenge, street confrontation, and the nervous crowd backs up one more step.

Tall man raises one eye from his book, surveys the small man without interest, sneers. "Whatta you - short?"

And that about sums it up. Under other circumstances the small man may feel obligated to attack. Here there are three compelling reasons that hold him back. First, the tall man's immediate psychological bullseye is so accurate that even the small man recognizes its aptitude. Second, something in the tall man's voice and bearing indicate levels of craziness beyond anything the small man feels comfortable confronting. Third, the bus is here, it's time to go.