The things that make us human

This morning while on the train  headed to work there was a black woman seated across from me who was changing her baby boy's diaper. An older white  woman took a keen interest in her.  I assumed she wanted to ask the mother about  her son's colostomy bag, but she didn’t. She might have wanted to, but she asked instead about his age, his name–the things that make him human, the things that emphasize his personhood over his diagnosis. She had a kind soul, this woman. I could feel it in her eyes. We all put out vibes, you know. I’m a big believer in that, no matter how crazy it makes me sound. Just think about it–we all know that feeling when a person comes around and our skin crawls. Bad vibes. But then there are the ones we’re drawn to and we just can’t quite figure it out. They make us feel peaceful. Good vibes. She had the good vibes.