I spent this afternoon at the 2011 National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education. held at San Francisco’s Moscone Center. When I entered the conference hall, I saw people everywhere. Everywhere there were conference attendees chatting, thumbing through their programs, and rushing to the next session. There were a few islands of seating and those were the only places where the pace seemed to slow. That was where people went to take a break from the bustling all around them. And then there was this guy, leaning against the wall near the elevators to the mezzanine, standing quite still, and with his eyes closed. I could tell he was not asleep, but I was intrigued by his curious choice to take a standing time out. He was there for at least 15 minutes, because I saw him there on my way to the free coffee station, and on my way back; and he seemed incredibly trusting. His laptop bag was on the floor at his feet, but he did not seem at all concerned with the possibility that his computer might get stolen. Nor did he seem to care that someone like me just might stand and stare at him for a while, with the intention of drawing him later. For that I am grateful.

8-Rock