1888 –The It Year Here in Everyday Ramblings

1888 –The It Year Here

I am having so much fun. It is like a big old jigsaw puzzle that I am putting together from various angles. What amazes me is how remarkably easy it is to talk to folks about this stuff.

Last night after logging off from work I trudged up to the central library. It was close to 100 degrees (38 C) so trudging was what it was, nauseatingly hot on the streets but manageable in the shade.

I had listened to a spiritual talk recently about how what we avoid and have resistance to and repress has a habit of following us around and reappearing. This particular talk was either by Reggie Ray or Jack Kornfield and about being pretty much terrified of scorpions and how over and over he kept encountering them when living in Asia and working with his teacher.

Yesterday I left a note on Lyn’s post about annoying Facebook habits about how the endless pleas for Pit Bull rescues were driving me nuts. Please don’t take this personally if you are a person who posts them. What I am saying here is about me.

I understand there are dogs being mistreated and in desperate need of love and care and I seriously hate seeing any animal suffer, but it is not helpful to me, whom would never adopt a big powerful dog under any circumstances having to do with both my preferences, history and irrational fears.

(I am also struggling with trying to understand and forgive the dentist who shot the lion with an arrow.)

I dislike offending people and I honor and respect folks who do make these adoptions (clearly I am in the rescue cat camp and have proven myself there I believe with 13 years with Sam the man) but I am terrified of large powerful dogs.

It was hot, did I mention that? When I got to the library I was preoccupied with this whole expressing opinions not wanting to offend but being allowed my own point of view thing, something I am a little pathological about. The place I wanted to go was up on the third floor of our gorgeous beautifully restored main library.

There is a grand stairway. I always take it. The only time I ever took the elevator was when I was with Mr. Finch. The poetry is up there.

Yesterday I decided to cut myself some slack and took the air-conditioned elevator.

And when I stepped off and turned the corner I came face to face with an untethered in anyway American Pit Bull Terrier.

In the library.

She was red and white and she was looking right at me while her person sitting on a bench was not paying any attention to her.

I didn’t have any choice and had to walk right by her and thank the fates and the stars above she was a sweetie and just watched me go as the female security guard came towards her owners and said she had to be leashed.

Apparently because of the awful heat the social service arm of the library had made a decision that they would allow the non-service animal inside if it were leashed.

That was exciting. :)

Surviving the encounter and going around the corner I found a couple of young librarians that were thrilled to help me with resources on finding out more about the above house. Besides specific information on this particular house they gave me the key to the insurance maps and another couple of resource links that are amazing! I now have a print out of the floor plan of the inside of the house and yes it was built in 1888.

It turns out that both things neighbors had told me are true about who currently owns it. It looks like the woman that owns the empty house across the street deeded the house to the woman that owns the café that is attached to the studio where the poetry readings are in 1999. It was built on the site.

And the turreted apartment building? That was also built in 1888. Though the owner via the current occupant of the red cottage in front of it told me today that it was built in 1900. They picked it up and turned it around! The building. That is why it is so confusing. It used to face the street that is not there anymore. I have a street address for it now. The picture on Google maps shows a wall of the pedestrian tunnel as the street view and technically that is correct.

Okay, I will stop now.

I slept 10 hours last night and blew off a trip to the farmers market this morning to do it.

Sometimes a body just needs to rest.

Last updated August 01, 2015