Beauty, Loneliness and a Changing Human Landscape in Everyday Ramblings

  • May 5, 2018, 2:59 p.m.
  • |
  • Public

The public stairway near my place last night I think, this week at least.

We have overcast skies full of bright glare but it is dry and reasonably warm. We are transitioning from the intense burst of color that is early spring here to every imaginable shade of fresh new green. The irises are coming full on now and I saw the first lilies of the season in bloom yesterday evening as I was out walking in the neighborhood.

There is one late blooming tree out front that is so beautifully fragrant. I am not sure what it is but I do know I want to linger under it.

It is a nice antidote for the thin sharp edged woman I found carefully going through our dumpsters two days in a row just at sunrise before she rode off on her bike made of stolen parts grinning at my discomfort.

This morning I walked by the site of one of the smaller but flourishing homeless encampments that has been anxiety inducing for me for months. The first thing I noticed was that the tarps and tents were gone and the next thing I noticed was that the garbage strewn on the ground had been burned. I saw a vegetable steamer in the debris.

When I was walking home from the farmer’s market carrying a dozen beautiful fresh eggs and a bunch of chard like a bridal bouquet I passed by two men and a tow truck removing a car that had completely flipped onto it’s roof on the curvy street just a block from here. There was a big gouge out of a tree next to the road.

Have you noticed how hard it is lately to get accurate local news?

You would think an accident like that where someone was clearly hurt would have made the news.

I’ve tried Twitter and Reddit and the local Sinclair station as well as public broadcasting but find nothing. I need to give up. It is a deep well that sucks in one’s attention.

We were going to go for a hike this morning but Mrs. Sherlock was too tired from being up all night with her husband as he experienced all the accumulated side effects of six weeks of radiation treatment as well as a more modest exposure to chemo.

The plan is to try for tomorrow morning.

I have a bunch of chores to do in the kitchen and my class on boosting immunity to prepare for Monday. We have been booted out of the studio again (a body image workshop or something displaced us) and I am grateful the church is providing us a free room to have class in.

In my dreams I have my own studio (or at least a much more interactive relationship with the owners of a studio) so that I don’t need to deal with these displacements. They bring out the worst in me.

I may be feeling a bit undervalued these days.

The person we kind of sort of maybe report to at work was off for 4 days last week and we have no idea where he was or is, though we think an overseas trip may be involved. Literally no one is paying any attention to us and Saint Joe is showing signs of burnout and I am pretty sure I am too even though I had the wonderful getaway last weekend.

The studio bumped my class for one session but also one of my students left a favorite pair of pants in a storage cubby and I put them put in the lobby area so they could be seen from the street if she came back to retrieve them but instead they went missing. My regular contact there acted like he could care less when I asked him about them.

Mrs. Sherlock is completely engaged in her husband’s illness understandably and Kes is struggling with her own physical challenges so I am feeling a loss of regular human interaction.

Oh and don’t get me started on the news! I mean how weird is it that the Prime Minister of Israel goes on a conservative cable network morning show here in the U.S. so he can, ummm, talk to the President of the United States… and that said President may actually be influenced by this to do a crazy thing… no don’t get me started on the news okay?

The cats are both having midday baths in patches of filtered sun waiting not so patiently for their afternoon serving of wet food.

At least someones here are living the dream. :)


Last updated May 05, 2018


Deleted user May 05, 2018

I want to go down that stairway in a really dramatic ball gown, haha. It’s beautiful!
cats really do have the best lives, they don’t ever worry about the news. :)

woman in the moon May 05, 2018

This entry was a whole list of things that are not right, genuine unfortunate things that happen to us and others. There is little to do about them except endure. Having the homeless encampment moved out is a good thing.

woman in the moon May 05, 2018

That is a long stairway. I'd worry the blossoms would be slippery. I am getting old.

noko woman in the moon ⋅ May 05, 2018

In the fall and early winter when the same stairway is covered in wet leaves 🍁 it is quite slippery. I am often glad for the handrails.

Lyn May 06, 2018

Astute observations as always.

Yay for the cats. 😼

Marg May 06, 2018

I feel all your losses so much in this entry - seems unfair they're all coming at once!
That staircase is just beautiful.

Deleted user May 06, 2018

I thought the same thing as almost everyone else when I saw that staircase. Perfect forva wedding or a grand entrance .
So glad they have moved the homeless camp. Here they hide in timbered areas then the police shut them down and make them go to shelters or jail. I have nightmares of ending up homeless.
You do need a studio ! As for your work, “burn out” feels bad. It’s hard enough to work at a trying job without that . I hope things get better.
Beloved cats always have THE LIFE.

edna million May 08, 2018

I love love love that stairway. Perfect for this entry. I've noticed that about the news too - not long ago there was a car upended against a telephone pole at the interstate exit in Asheville nearest my dad's house. I searched and searched trying to find out what had happened, to no avail. It seemed very strange.

You must be logged in to comment. Please sign in or join Prosebox to leave a comment.