The Other Side

My cousin Jason is out in New York trying to make a living as an actor. That means he's doing a lot of bartending with some acting on the side. But that's how most actors make their living, so it's to be expected. When he calls home I imagine our conversations are like the scene from that Meg Ryan movie - the one where she's the bride walking down the aisle, anxious and nervous about her future. She passes an old man and wishes she could be like to be him - to have made it out on the other side of marriage and children and life... He in turn looks at her and wishes he could go back and live his life all over again.

Sometimes when we're on the phone together I can hear cars and people in the background, the hustle and bustle of city life, and I wish for a moment that I could be like that, free to roam a big city, free to work wherever and whenever, my rent payment being my only concern. I imagine he hears my children screaming in the background and for a moment he wishes he could meet the right gal, settle down, and have a family of his own.

He loves his non-acting jobs but they don't make much money. I hate my stupid job but I make decent money. I wish I could afford to find a job that I loved, regardless of the pay. I know he wishes he could make more and live a little more comfortably.

When we talk, I vent my frustrations about my ordinary life. He vents his about his non-traditional one. We joke and laugh and fume and rant. For the time being, I imagine we both wish we were in the other person's shoes.

And then we hang up. He catches a subway train and I start unloading the groceries.

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