The Layby People

Those people I see on long drives north, and back south, the slouched people awaiting help, forced out of plans. I see something in them. You might remember I recently wrote about getting lost, how there is no better way to be ultra-present. Well, it’s a variation of that.

Two lads, around 13 and 15 years-old respectively, and a dad who paces a few meters away. The lads both wear tracksuits, and their faces are blank, gazing at the zooming cars still on course for their destinations. They remind me of author Chuck Palahniuk’s comments about there being no better place to write than hospital emergency waiting rooms, if you want to capture unfiltered body-language and presence.

None of the four groups of unfortunates I see want the situation they’re in, and I have no way of knowing whether it will turn out to be good or bad for them, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t believe there to be an opportunity in the predicament.