Day 11

Name: Elizabeth

Profession: Consultant

Location: Outside of Quincy Market

Question: Why are you here?

Answer: To get some fresh air

Today confirmed the fact that middle-aged people, especially women, hate speaking with me. My guesses as to why this is: females have always been told that they are more vulnerable to men, and therefore are paranoid about giving personal information to strangers; working class forty-somethings feel they are too busy to allot an indefinite amount of time for an indefinite reason; or, perhaps, these tight-lipped commoners are a product of the Cold War isolationism that struck suburbanites between 1945 and 1991, and are therefore more comfortable within the confines of their home and among their family than they are out in the world among tree-huggers and commies.

In any case, Elizabeth wasn’t interested in providing me any insight into her story.

What I did learn was that the woman, photographing a tree outside of Quincy Market, was “just getting some fresh air.” Her boyfriend, a balding introvert who kept his eyes on the ground and only awarded me a slight nod and quick smile once throughout the interview, had lent her his camera so she could become a better photographer.

“I like bike riding, we like going for walks and just hanging outside, being outside,” she offered. Her favorite memory was the Red Sox’s 2004 World Series victory; she did not attend the game. It was a sad attempt to differentiate herself, but I pressed on.

“I used to go down on vacation once a year, every year, but now I had a break for a couple of years not doing that, and now I’m starting up again,” she said. “Mostly the islands, Aruba, Bermuda, and places like that. We’re going to Florida for spring training in March and we’re going to Napa in May.”

Well, thanks, Elizabeth. It really was an enlightening evening.