I was reading an article today about what qualities President Obama may be looking for when deciding who to nominate as the next Supreme Court justice, and the character trait that rose above all others was empathy.

This notion: the ability to understand what people other than yourself are feeling, to see their point of view and feel for them as if you were experiencing their troubles… That’s a powerful sentiment for any judge, but especially someone who will sit on the highest court in the land and make decisions that affect millions of people whose stations in life they will never experience.

I bring this up, because when I was waiting for the subway today, a fellow was rushing down the stairs to try and catch a train that was about to leave for it’s next destination.

This man was not like me. He wore a bright red tank top, showing off an impressive dedication to weight lifting. His hair was a shade of blonde that only exists in bottles and there was a sheen to his tan skin that led me to believe he may have spent more time in a tanning bed than under actual sunlight.

But, while I am not a weight lifting bro, I have been late for the train. I could empathize with his plight.

Perhaps he had a wife and kids waiting for him to get home from the gym. Maybe it was his dying uncle’s birthday and he just wanted to get one last look at his bleached and bronzed nephew before passing on to that great big power lift in the sky.

Then, this poor fellow tripped on the last step before getting to the platform. He skidded across the dirty pavement while his sunglasses pin wheeled into the sky. A large can of energy drink careened across the way, leaving a wake of neon-green fizz.

All of the good citizens were concerned for our fellow traveller. The doors of the train he was trying to make closed at his feet while he watched helplessly.

I was focusing all of my energy towards stifling a laugh. Not a snicker, but a full bodied-guffaw.

I mean, he was basically a human cartoon and there would be another train in a minute… Once it was clear he hadn’t broken anything, it was… what’s the word?.. hilarious.

I guess what I’m trying to say is this: I won’t be getting nominated for the Supreme Court anytime soon.
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Photo credit: Hello Turkey Toe via Foter.com / CC BY