A delightful private mural Mrs. Sherlock and I came across on a recent walk. One of the guys in my group is putting together a book of Portland murals. It started out as an idea after he found himself taking pictures of them around town but now it has morphed into a full-fledged professional project with various photographers and interviews with the mural artists and an experienced editor.
He has a pretty serious form of cancer, and this is part of the legacy he wants to leave. He was an actor, and a very effective hands-on champion of the environment and native rights and a farmer. Now he wants to spend as much time as he can in his community garden plot. Puts mine to shame. And that is just fine.
I spent time with him on Tuesday as my second nonprofit had its annual “Vision Quest” for the board. We had it at Walt’s house. I saw a lot of Walt this last week. Coffee Shop Philosophers on Monday and the Dialogue Group on Thursday. He ended up organizing a show and tell on Thursday of paintings of one of his best friends and a regular Coffee Shop Philosopher. I don’t have a diary name for him.
The Painter. I will call him that. He has been painting since he was a schoolboy in West Texas. He told me this morning, (he has been coming to my class lately), that he was a C- student, indifferent. He is incredibly bright, his paintings colorful and full of, jammed packed with literary and biblical allusions. And historical ones. William Penn and the Indians. I read a poem this week to my class by Benjamin Franklin and that got the guys all talking…
Threaded in through all of this has been Mr. Boulder. I spent four hours with him last Saturday. We walked and then found a bench in a nice spot right on the river and talked and talked. The baby goslings that waddled by with a core parental group was an added bonus to what turned out to be a beautiful warm day. We both got sunburned. Me, just a little on my mid arms, him, more so. He is quite fair of skin. Even with his extensive tattoos.
I showed him my garden. He was pretty astonished. The whole idea of a community garden never really occurred to him after working in the huge rural prison greenhouse and garden. There happened to not be anybody else there, so we had fun roaming around and identifying plants. The forget-me-nots are blooming big time and in the course of our walk we saw two different distinct kinds. And there is a poppy extravaganza going on out there. Mostly the small orange California poppies.
He has been offered a job picking up used oil from restaurants to make into biofuel which involves him getting a driver’s license. I think he took the written test this week but as with everything these days, he needs an appointment to take the actual driving test. It is quite eye opening the amount of paperwork and bureaucracy involved in starting a life as a mature responsible adult these days. He got a bank account on Thursday. The first he has ever had.
He got sick with some sort of respiratory crud early this week after on Sunday he worked in another woman’s garden for hours. She is in her 80’s, lovely, I am very fond of her. She has about 30 different camellias. She paid him but he would have done it for free. He so wants to be useful. He was worried he had passed on something to both of us but as we were all pretty much outside all the time, so I didn’t get sick, nor did she.
Mrs. Sherlock’s young friend has booked her into a lovely lodge near a river on Saturday night with a fancy Mother’s Day Brunch on Sunday. She is doing well. She is discovering that being a widow is different from being a wife. Particularly these last years a caregiver wife. She is such an upbeat person, and she is beginning to learn that it is possible to flirt for fun. I suspect this will become a feature as she heals and moves back into a full active life.
There is League stuff to do, boy howdy. Everyone is thrilled we were one of five finalists and received news today that we won a $45,000 grant from the city for voter service work for the November election. It will allow us to do what we do already but just a little more so.
I need to wrap this up. Mr. Boulder and I are walking again tomorrow midday.
It is a gift to have this regular compatible companionship for however long it lasts.
It sure helps takes the edge off the slog.
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