On the side, one set of cars moves slowly out toward Boston. In the middle, steel rails cross and gleam away into the far distance. On the platform, four passengers wait for the fast train for New York.
The woman is staring out into the distance, hoping to see some sign of an approaching train. The young man in the middle is watching the departing train across the tracks. The man with the coffee cup seems to be looking off at something we can’t see.
They are all many feet apart, unconcerned with each other. They are not hostile or unfriendly. They are just keeping their distance, as if to say:
“ I don’t know you; you don’t know me. Let’s keep it that way.”
And endless space surrounds them. The sky is an enormous room, the rails disappear into an empty distance, and there is nothing beyond on either side but dark trees. It’s a very American scene.
The feeling here in Negros is very different. It’s a small place. All of Negros could be dropped into one American great lake, and with room to spare. Everything here is much closer- people and places together. There just isn’t as much space.
People are crowded together by necessity, and are so used to being close that they feel uncomfortable when they are alone. It’s better to be with other people, even if you don’t like them. You know their worst secrets, and still smile at them in passing. Togetherness is everything.
Even when it’s not necessary, houses are located tight up against each other, right up against the street-with no setbacks, and never mind the noise and dust. In America, that would be a very poor location, one to be avoided. Too crowded.
America is a huge country, and Americans are used to space- space around them, space between them. They may live in apartments, but they live in privacy. they don’t know -or want to know- their neighbor’s secrets- or even their names. It’s none of their business.
Americans pick their friends and companions by choice, not by proximity, or even by blood. If no one they know is around, they’d rather be alone. These four people on the platform don’t know each other, and stay apart–the three people you see in the picture, and me, holding the camera, keeping my proper distance from them. I’m an American too.
