the big TV in the main room of the commons
has this man who looks like a down-and-out Shakepearean actor
aquiline nose,
flowing, greasy mackerel gray hair,
dressed in black, he proudly bears his current turn of fortune...
he watches non-fiction shows (nature, etc.)
the other TV in the little room of the commons
has this man who has the face of a boy, but a
very big black boy
his face has the appearance of someone who can't hurt anyone but himself
that nice, but sadly desperate look,
dressed in jeans, he seems to mourn but aspire to better fortune
he watches dance shows and cartoons
the cleaning staff are usually finishing up the morning chores
polishing the floors, sweeping, moving the chairs around
chatting amongst themselves or figuring out what has to be done
dressed in light blue with IMU written on their uniforms, they look
like gas station attendants or something.
they do a lot of work, but they aren't straining themselves.
it's not really worth it and they know that all too well.
the cafeteria workers are in cooking early morning breakfast.
they open at 7 -- lots of times there's a line of
hotel guests with an odd university type or two
you can tell them apart, since the guests look awake
and the university types look asleep
there's the blonde woman in the cookie shop
working behind locked glass doors
arranging the cookies and the coffee for the
continuous rush of those needing sugar and caffeine highs
during the busy day.
there's the bosses in the cheap maroon blazers
that strut around just enough to show that
they own the place, but not enough to put off the students or workers
i'm not really a big fan of them,
but they do really put on a good show,
i gotta give them credit for that.
on occasion, there'll be another lost soul
wandering out from the hotel
or up too early and checking their email
but since i'm not walking through every morning at the same time,
i don't know if there are any other
early morning wanderers who pass through the union
most every morning on their way from home to their job
there probably are...
maybe i'll ask one of the cleaning people about it next time through