Rumpled

Walking from the bus into the bank I had avoided mud puddles, scattered among melting snow patches. Inside the bank, I stepped into the queue. The smell of old cigarette smoke surrounded him. I wondered at the tiny brown spots, evenly spaced, straight up the back of his beige, too big jacket. His clothes ill fitting, even his black cap was rumpled. He turned his head briefly. In profile, I saw a young face, pleasant, smooth and sharply defined, a shock of black hair revealed when he adjusted his cap. Tall and thin, he sagged under the weight of his late November clothes. I wondered where he had locked his bike up in this busy downtown.

“Your image isn’t your character. Character is what you are as a person.”

~ Derek Jeter, American baseball player