On my Walk to Harvard Yard: A Reflection

By Doug Holder

On my walk to Harvard Yard-- I took a well-appointed seat under a bright red umbrella to rest, and talk to a friend on the phone. I saw this elderly woman, in a state of disrepair--probably homeless- looking in the distance at me. I remember her from a bagel shop I used to frequent in Harvard Square. She came up to me once and said, "You're Dave, right? Can I buy you a pastry?" I said no thanks and my name was "Doug." "Dave," she said--you work at Harvard." "No I don't", as she looked at me with the most downcast expression.

 So here I am in Harvard Yard, watching a couple wheeling an inquisitive infant, and she approaches me again. " You're Dave right?" " "No", I said. " You work at Harvard, right?" " No," I said.' Again she looked at me with downcast eyes.

I wonder about that woman, and who Dave was. Some friend from her distant past she pined for? A long lost a friend, a child, a lover? Will she ever find this Dave? Was she was someone I once knew--and I couldn't recognize now? I wondered if I should have told her " Yes," I am Dave--it might of made the woman's day. Instead after she left I walked away.