Up Down

I don't normally believe in or ask for signs. But I do believe in being observant and finding meaning in what you find in your surroundings.
Yesterday I spent the whole day looking down. I don't know why, I just did. On my way to work as I was runing up the stairs to get to the train I was just sort of following a tide of people. I never looked to cross the street, just followed the group. We were like robots just swiping our little CTA cards through the turnstiles. I knew how many steps it would take to get to the stairs. I knew once I got there we would all sort of jog up the stairs in a single file line in order to be the lucky ones who got a pole to hold on to on the brown line at 8:30am. I did not, however, know that on my way up the stairs with my eyes pointed downward I would see the unnatached head of a mouse staring back at me. This was a denting kick in the metal of the well oiled machine that is my morning routine.
But, I got on the train and stood sandwiched between two other admin types and stared jealously down at the sitting girls seat, ipod, sneakers-that she -apparantly-gets-to-wear-to-work and purse. Like most of the cruel tricks in my life, the train empties out completely every morning one stop before mine, I always get a seat for at least two and a half minutes. But this is the kicker...as I was walking through more turnstiles and overpasses and things to get to the staircase that actually leads not only to the street I want to be on but also the SIDE of the street I want to be on (that one took a while to figure out, but I'm a pro now) and I started walking down the steps and was debating whether or not today would be a coffee day...guess what I saw?......I'm serious......an unattached mouse head.
Who is decapitating mice and leaving them on CTA staircases? And although I don't believe in signs, I mean, come on...TWO mice heads in one day? One on each side of my commute? What the hell? And NO, I didn't get the unatched mouse head stuck on my shoe and drag it all the way across town with me on the brown line you sickos. Two different mice.
THEN!
As I am walking to work I nearly step in something slimy and disgusting in the middle of the street and do you know what it is? I AM DEAD SERIOUS....it's a giant dead RAT body................................................................................................................................................

WITH NO HEAD!!!!!

So today I decided to look up. I tripped a little going up the stairs and realized the reason I always look down is that I can SEE THE STAIRS but whatever. I let one train go by and got on the next less crowded one. Still no seat, but less crowded. Looking up I saw some of the books the standers were reading, mostly trash but some good stuff here and there. On the way home while waiting for the purple line I looked way up and remembered that one of the buildings down town is a prison. I hadn't realized it was so close to my train, but there it was. And I could even see some of the bars on the windows. And way way way up on the roof of the building there was a barred area where some of the prisoners were playing basketball and some of them were staring right back down at me.

I've decided to look straight ahead from now on.