False front; politically correct and other signs of the time; the wind blows, a special girl is fed, a grasshopper befriended
Friday, January 14, 2011 at 11:19AM 
For some damn reason, we have to pay bills - too many bills, adding up to way too much. So I drove to the Carr's Mall and let Margie out to go inside to the credit union and make our car payment. I then circled the parking lot and saw the half moon hanging over these false fronts - built to remind us here in the Far North of the Old West.
After she paid the bill, Margie got back into the car and we headed off to pay the next bill. We found ourselves directly behind this car, being ordered to think. So I thought and this is what I think: within the framework and social context of the car owner's life, community and media followed, these bumper stickers are all most likely 100 percent politically correct.
Ah... to think what might have been!
If you can't read all of the bumper stickers at this size, you probably can in slide show view.
It seemed pretty ridiculous to me and I didn't want to do it, but, being a law-abiding citizen, I stopped three times, just as the sign ordered. I don't think that my doing so made anybody any safer.
As I walked from the car to the post office, I suddenly saw these characters furiously flapping, coming directly in my direction, flying only about 20 to 30 feet above the parking lot. It would have been a wonderful picture had I been ready but, by the time I could draw and shoot, they had already passed by.
Did you know that I am a duck in human disguise?
It's true. I am. One day, I will tell the story. Or maybe I won't. Maybe I will leave readers to wonder and ponder, "what does he mean - he is a duck in human disguise?"
Melanie and Lisa are probably groaning right now.
After we paid the bills, checked the mail and found more bills that need to be paid, we headed home, where I flailed away to no discernable accomplishment on this computer for a bit and then at 4:00 PM I headed to Metro Cafe. There were two vehicles in line ahead of me and, as I waited, Nola came walking out, headed to her own car with a cup for herself.
She stopped to chat, just for as long as her ears could take the icy bite of this bitter wind that now seems to have set in in perpetuity.
Nola would like to open up a coffee shop of her own one day soon - in Hawaii.
And when she does, I want to stop by and buy a cup from her.
As for this day, when I got to the window, my gift cards in hand, I discovered that, once again, a kindly, anonymous reader of this blog had bought me an Americano and cinnamon roll.
My cup runneth over.
Trees, as seen from the drive-through line at Metro Cafe, after Nola had fled the wind and got back into her car.
I took the usual drive to sip and drink and so passed by Grotto Iona.
The horses from yesterday were still there, socializing.
And this plow was coming down the road, appearing to scrape ice, yet, after it passed by, all the ice still seemed to be in place.
Maybe some of it was gone. What we need now is snow, lots of snow, to cover all this stuff up and make winter look like winter should.
Right now, it's just cold, dry and windy. Not bitter cold, like it can be, but teens and single digits. But when you get into the wind, it feels pretty cold.
As readers who have stuck with me all week can see, my life this week has been pretty mundane and routine. I sit at my computer all day long, breaking away just long enough to go get a coffee or pay some bills.
Pretty boring stuff. Yet, it never seems boring to me.
Please don't abandon me, though. I will get this blog into some excitement pretty soon.
This is the roof of our house, btw. I have just returned from my coffee break.
And this from India:
Jesse Clithi runs a little day-care center in Bangalore that also functions kind of like a pre-school here in the US. The day after Soundarya and Anil married, Melanie and I stopped by for a visit along with my niece Sujitha, Soundarya's sister, and her fiance Manoj. The students were mostly about three or four years of age - except for one, who was eight.
She had suffered some kind of malady that had left both her brain and her body underdeveloped and so she was the same size as her classmates and, when it came to play, acted much as they did.
Yet, those who know her say that this little girl is very special, that even though her body is small and her language skills limited, she sees and understands many things that might pass by most of us. I have no doubt but what this is true.
On this day, she wanted to eat only if Manu would feed her. He did.
Suji gives the special girl a kiss.
Manu pats her on the head.
When I started this little project of frequently dropping in an image or few from India at the end of a post, I stated that I was doing so in order to let it be known that Soundarya was not and would not be forgotten, but that I would not be posting pictures of Soundarya herself.
I meant my pictures of Soundarya, which I have spent considerable time sorting through, lately, along with those of Anil, but Sujitha took this picture. She emailed it and three others to me as they were the last pictures of Sandy from her camera. She was a little apologetic about the quality of the 3 megapixel camera that she used, but my contention about pictures is that the feeling captured means much more than the technical quality rendered.
And in this one, she captured the feeling of Soundarya and her Chooo'weet little friend, the grasshopper.
Suji calls Soundaraya, "Soundu," and uses the word with great affection. Soundu would often write to me of Suji and she would call her, "Barbie," also with great affection.
Perhaps I will include some or all of the three remaining pictures from Suji's camera in a subsequent post.
Reader Comments (8)
Bill, we couldnt abandon your blog... You make me laugh... and now I have to Stop, stop, stop, by 3 times a day to your blog....
Its the small mind that can't find the beauty, humor, in the mundane and routine.. I feel sorry for them, for they are very rarely impressed, and forever chasing grand (and probably very expensive) adventures...
Hah! Those three stop signs always make me chuckle. Stop. Stop! STOP!!! is how I read them. Sort of like how OmegaDad and I talk with the dotter sometimes; the first two "stops" just go in one ear and out the other, so the third comes out extra strong.
The first time I saw those three stop signs I thought it was a joke, but when I looked at the dynamics of that odd intersection it makes sense in a way, and I realized that at some point I'd probably blown through that stop a time or two when there was only one. I think maybe a few more intersections need triple-decker stop signs.
Love the images you share, love your writing, love your blog. I often fall behind in reading, but then I look forward to coming here just to read awhile and catch up, and it always provides a grounding point and thereby resets my perspective.
Sometimes when I look at our bill from the phone company for landline/cableTV/highspdinternet I think they have lured us a bit at a time, a little nibble here, a nibble there at this wonderful access to technology. And now we pay more for that then we do for our heat and air conditioning combined. It's twice what our first house payment was (it was an old, old house at $63.32 a month...a long time ago!)
Love the photo of Soundarya and her grasshopper. But I still will not pick one up. I'm a bug wimp.
How could I abandon a blog that reminds me to look for beauty even when waiting in a drive through line? Plus, the stop signs make me smile. I think we could use a few of those in our town.
I love this uncle.. thanks for posting Sandy's pic. It gives me a shock that she is not there anymore and at the same time makes me feel good that she is remembered and loved.
Abandon your blog? Never! It is a daily highlight in my life. You've taught me much the past couple of years, in many different areas of life.
She is looking great ... she and her grasshopper friend. I remember the day we took it... I was jumping all over and running away from it and she took her friend and wanted to pose for a quick pic!!! Miss U...