A glimpse of life.

Again, stumbleupon came up trumps a couple of weeks ago, when i stumbled across a trailer for a book.
The book is called "Not quite what I was planning - Six word memoirs by writers famous and obscure". It started as a project on twitter, with users all over the world writing a six-word story about their life. After watching, I promptly bought the book and here are some of my favourites:

After Harvard, had baby with crackhead. - Robin Templeton

I still make coffee for two. - Zak Nelson

Living for Jesus because earth sucks. - Johnny Johnson

Should have learned to count. - David Wheatley

dam smart - never lerned to spel. - Rachel Ehrlich

Fifteen years since last professional haircut. - Dave Eggers

Revenge is living well, without you. - Joyce Carol Oates

Secret of life: Marry an Italian. - Nora Ephron



These little bits of peoples lives, or a whole life summed up in so small a sentence has inspired me. I've been writing some of my own:

Found Love, wasn't what I expected.

Glimpsed a life, never seen again.

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That second story, I came up with while thinking about all the people I've met on trains and buses. I often have small conversations, or help people out with luggage troubles, or even just ask a stranger if they mind me closing a window. In these moments, I've seen a tiny part of a whole life, that I'll never see again, or see any more of. Sometimes, it's the smallest of things. Other times, I can guess at huge amounts of who the person is and what they're doing. Mostly, it's great to impact in someones life, just to make them smile for five minutes or think a little bit. And it's even greater to have them do it back to me.

Almost every train or bus journey I make now, I'm truely humbled.
Think about it.

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