The Bubbles Guy of Allen Street, known best as The Bubble Guy, has been bringing smiles to faces of countless, and has been brightening up the day (and the sky) for many, since about seven years now, with the simple act of blowing bubbles from his third storey apartment on the corner of Allen and Elmwood. An institution and a landmark unto himself, the Bubble guy has been engaging in his endeavor when the weather so permits.

His hobby is considered a nuisance by some, who claim that the bubbles leave a soapy residue on the cars and windows around his zone of action. As a result he has his share of detractors and supporters.

The first time I noticed him was when I was waiting for a bus at that spot, tired, dulled from a full day of work – when I happened to notice a multitude of bubbles floating by, catching the light of the sun, and momentarily I  wandered off, floating away from my worries and tribulations, with those bubbles into the wide, open yonder. Since that day, the sight of bubbles floating by the window of my office never fails to bring a smile to my visage, and for a moment I can just let go of the worries and mind-wrangling issues to enjoy the bubbles.

It reminds me of the poem I used to recite for my English teacher back in grade school. William Wordsworth’s Daffodils. Especially this final paragraph.

For oft when on my couch I lie,
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye,
Which is the bliss of solitude,
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.