Kind of Like the Birds in Everyday Ramblings

First, I apologize for the glare. That is how it looks out there. In one of the conversations I had lately with neighbors, someone told me that there was a stanchion from the old railroad that stopped at the corner next to my block on the big busy street that was built to follow the rail line. This was apparently the first stop after the trestle that spanned the gulch just north of me across the street.

I was surprised because this is a bus stop I stand at all the time and I had no idea what she was talking about. That is the Carnegie library building in the background on the left on the other corner of the park. This morning I went for a little walk just after sun up and remembered to look for the pole.

It took me awhile to see it! Right there in plain sight. Duh.

I looked at all the power poles and light poles and was thinking, is this it, this looks old is this it? It is like my life pre interest in bird watching and my life now. The birds were there all along. It was me that wasn’t seeing them.

It is cool and overcast and we even had some drizzle earlier. I know this because I went to a work presentation early downtown that was supposed to be about our annual software upgrade. And it was, but it was so technical in nature I didn’t understand a third of what the presenter was saying. A nice guy, and a good presenter but I am like oh man I haven’t a clue.

After a squirmy hour and a half and armed with a link to the 547 page Power Point presentation I bailed and came home to work. In the drizzle.

Kes is arriving shortly and taking me to my six-week follow-up with the dental specialist after those incredibly intense procedures. They have since become a marker of discomfort for me, so say I am going though a diagnostic test or being stuck with needles and I tell myself, oh cool, at least it isn’t as bad as the two hours I spent that one day in the dental office… Today is a look-see and next steps appointment.

And then we’ll have dinner and play with the cats and chat. The cats love Kes and are very excited about seeing her.

A woman who usually walks two dogs early and sometimes runs with them went by this morning and said hello to me for the very first time ever. When I was out taking pictures at noon (including the above shot I went back for) two of my neighbors waved to me. I enjoy this sense of engagement and deep connection here.

Yesterday afternoon I walked over to North West Portland to see my Buddhist counselor and I took pictures of some beautiful homes over there. A number of folks who did well here moved there and to my old very upscale neighborhood in North East Portland. There is a lot of beautiful glass and detail and decoration.

But for some reason that I will probably never fully understand it is the more modest homes here in this neighborhood built by immigrants, mostly Jewish and Italian that have captured both my heart and my imagination.

The demographic differences between the two groups are fascinating and I will touch on that in another post.

Oh and there is the whole readdressing story. In 1933 the powers that be changed all the addresses in the city proper and put us on this quadrant grid separated by the river and one of our bridges we are on now. This contractor, maker of tile numbers went around and sold and installed these buff with black tile numbers to basically everyone.

It is an easy way to tell if a house was here before then.

I wouldn’t be surprised if there wasn’t a kick back to the city fathers involved.

Oh, and the pool that was built in 1925 up the street attached to the neighborhood house? They had one day a week where men swam naked and one where women did! I must investigate and verify this. Imagine a proper lady walking her chicken to the abattoir and then going swimming in the buff!

Oh my.

Last updated July 16, 2015