Being. Continued. - 2518 - Gay Lesbian Bi Trans News

It's been a couple of months since Mark had seen the guy on the subway that had saved him from armputation ... is "armputation" right? ... whatever getting your arm cut off is called. Anyway, the problem is that Mark was running late for work when he "met" this guy. And that day it was made clear to Mark by his boss that it was not to happen again. So there wasn't much chance of Mark bumping into this guy again. Except today Mark had the day off. It was the same day of the week that he was saved from public humiliation by that stranger. So Mark went to the subway station at the same time that it was when he was late and he waited on the train platform. In the freezing cold. He looked into each car as they passed by, hoping he would see that guy's face. And when the exact time came, he jumped on the train and rode it to the stop that guy got off on and waited for him on the platform. I called and asked him a few hard questions while this was going on. Why are you looking for someone you don't even know? Is this an act of romanticism or desperation? Is this any less crazy than a Craigslist ad? Was this stalking or just helping out fate? Even if it was stalking, that guy couldn't get a restraining order without knowing Mark's name. Except that Mark gave him a business card. Damn. Anyway, Mark was really hoping that guy would call. I mean, Mark knew he was a total mess that day, that's for sure. Falling all over himself, almost dumping coffee everywhere, flirting with an absolute stranger ... so I guess it really is no wonder why that dude didn't call. Maybe that guy was straight. Like really straight, and was just being nice. But there was something about the way they looked at each other. Mark says he felt it. Or maybe he's losing it. He just couldn't get him off of his mind either way. You know, Mark is the type of guy that takes silence personally. Even from strangers. So he was hoping that he could set things right by "coincidentally" running into that guy again and reintroducing himself. But he didn't see him. He gave up. He was kicking himself for being such a loser and wasting his morning looking for Mr. Maybe. Mark got back on the train and was heading home when his phone rang. And, no shit, It was that dude! He told Mark that he thought he saw him, from a different car, and thought he would call and say hello to see if he remembered him. He had kept Mark's card in his wallet the whole time. And do you know what Mark did? He told him exactly what he was there doing! You'd think that after two major doses of Mark's transit craziness that this guy would run, run, run, but he told Mark that he has been looking for him every day since they first bumped into each other. He just didn't have the nerve to call. Crazy right? Turns out the guy's name is Ben. They're meeting for coffee later. It may have been hopeless, romantic and straight-up crazy, but Mark's plan sort of worked. I really need to start paying more attention on the train.

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985