Who Are You ?

For the last few years I’ve exchanged neighbourly pleasantries with a man who lives down the hall from me.   He’s often with his enormous dog or petite wife.  Nothing odd or weird, just normal neighbour stuff. 

While reading The Globe this past weekend, there he was again but this time he wasn’t with his dog or his wife, he was staring up at me from The Arts section.   

Turns out my nice neighbour is a world renowned artist.  He chats with Madonna and the guys from Metallica and has major showings of his work in prestigious galleries all over the world.  While his work is a bit weird for my “I love flowers” conventional taste, it is really quite cool.  Along with this, he’s also suffered from various forms of mental illness his entire life.  The art heals him, he says. 

I’m not sure which aspect of his life I found more interesting, but reading about him made me think that we really don’t have any idea about anyone, do we?  Now, I’m not saying that the lady sitting next to me on the streetcar is a Nobel Laureate or anything, but I’m sure she’s got some story - just like you do and just like I do. 

Thanks to The Globe, I now know who my neighbour really is.  But, tell me, who are you?