The Brick-Man
Life in a city is a slave to many things. You have to cope with its speed, its rising expenses, its pollution, its opportunities all molded into the hands of a clock. Its weekdays represent wanton ambition; its weekends offer succor. On the weekend, weary city-zens try to clear the dust on their lives and in their relationships. The park is one such escape for middle-aged fathers like me, to reward their weekend mornings and to see their kids realize their natural instinct – to play. In this island of greenery I meet known and new faces; young old men and old young men. I get greeted by familiar faces, many I don’t know names of, nor do they know mine. It is a relationship born of familiarity that remains limited to the hour spent inside the park’s gates or, chance meeting in market areas. Among the faces that became familiar, was a man in his mid-40s. I first saw him almost 2 years ago, using bricks as weights for stretching and strength exercises. Apart from...