the open door

leaving work, i declined to trace my normal path out the side door and walked all the way out the lobby and through two sets of glass doors. the outer door was open, allowing me to stride through at an easy pace, until i slammed into what was actually not a door at all, but a full length window next to the doors. surprised more than hurt, i remarked to the man i knew was a few steps behind me that the glass must be unusually clean today. however, delivering a more thundering blow, he walked out the door, not turning to look, or reacting in any way, as he listened to his music. i realized in that instant the power people have to hurt each other. his indifference to my accident, his failure to stop, to check if i was ok, to react in any way, was much more hurtful than slamming into unseen glass. i keep thinking this over, wondering if he could have totally missed what had happened, thinking how there is very little chance he heard me speak over his music. i recall, in contrast, the experience of a friend who had a similar accident going in to a movie theater. she was deeply embarassed after a woman came over and asked if she was ok, again hurt more by the social consequences of her accident than by her collision with the glass.