On a typical Sunday afternoon, the Brandon Mall food court is packed with hungry people and the stores are crowded with customers anxious to spend their hard-earned money. The mall is full of people in all shapes and sizes, young and old, beautiful and ordinary.
If you pay close attention, you may see a 300 pound man - his shirt four sizes too small, revealing stretch marks - the scars from too many years of over-eating. You may see a group of teenage boys walking by like a gang of insecure criminals, too unsure of themselves to look each other in the eye. Continue watching.chances are, you'll see the 90-year-old man and his wife, once the most perfect looking couple in town, moving forward hand in hand, one slow step at a time. The cane he leans on is a prop for his weak and fragile legs, and the woman hooks her arm through his as if she has the strength to keep him from falling. So many people, each with a different history and story to tell. .
The man just around the corner is about six foot three with a green Mohawk crowning the top of his head. As if the pointed green spikes didn't draw enough attention to him, his hands and feet are huge, making him look a like a clown traipsing through the crowd, looking for his circus. The young girl beside him - most likely his girlfriend, is about five feet tall, a mere waif walking beside the green-haired monster clown. Her jet-black hair is tipped with purple, and her face is round and pretty, framed with large, oriental tattoos that rise from beneath her neckline and disappear under her hairline. They're an unusual looking pair - the clown and the tattooed lady. .
Back in the food court, a sad looking young woman orders a burger with all the toppings, extra large fries and a diet coke. She keeps her head down, failing to make eye contact with anyone. What has she been through that's made her so self conscious and insecure. If you study her eyes long enough, you may get choked up.