SUNSET 3/1/08

Men at Work

Due to powerful wind in Frankfurt, all flights were delayed. A lot. Some people had been waiting in lines for 5 hours to rebook a cancelled flight. When the sunset was just a few minutes away, we found a window in a hallway between terminals where we could look outside. Several men were seated in front of the window, and there were 2 men asleep nearby. The departure board conveniently displayed the time so when there were 5 minutes to go, I approached the men seated by the windows. I asked if they spoke English and when they said they did, I explained that the sun was going down in a few minutes and that I was ringing bells everyday at sunrise and sunset. They asked me to repeat what I had said and then asked why. I explained that I had made a vow to do this all year and that I believed that it was a good thing to do. I said I liked that it was a fact that the sun rose and set and that because of that it was something we all had in common.

So they said OK they would ring with Norman and I. I said I would start the movie by focusing on the time on the board down the hall and then wheel my cart back toward them. It was so wonderful to hear those tiny little bells and I realized as I got closer to the men that while I was down looking at the clock, the sleeping men had woken up and they were also standing there ringing. It was pretty wonderful.

The guys were from Manilla and were returning from working on ships. They had been in Texas before crossing the Panama Canal and stopping in the Bay Area. They were glad to be going home.