Jackie was a skateboarder...

I worry about dogs. I think about those paintings of dogs playing poker and the conversations. Pre-2020, I suspect the poker games lasted an anxious, reluctant 20 minutes, a commitment to maintaining K9 friendships despite an eagerness to get back home. Post-2020, I imagine the games now last an extra hand or two. It's all good, I can stay another 15 minutes, I see them all the time these days...I need to give them a chance to grow. There'd be the same eagerness to get back home. Sacrifice.

But there's always a curmudgeon at the table. Don't get cocky. The vets are giving them these vaxxinashions. Things could change soon.

Fake news. If they're getting vaxxinashions, where are the plastic cones?

Cal Anderson Park is the place for dog watching these days. And it's fun watching them. I stopped to watch the skateboarders today. I always stop to watch the skateboarders. I envy their fearlessness and community. I know every community has its issues, but as an outsider looking in, the skateboard community seems pretty cool.

Today there was a shaggy mutt pacing back and forth along the gate, just dying to get in there. I suspected that she was with someone and keeping an eye on them. It wouldn't have been hard to follow her gaze and figure out who, but I was just watching the dog.

A skateboarder walked out of the court and left the gate open. She saw her chance and discreetly made a move. But her skateboarding friend was onto her, sent her back out, and closed the gate. (It wasn't cruel; after all, she didn't have her skateboard with her.)

I tried for one more shot of Jackie, but she spotted me and ambled over for some scritches. Her skateboarding companion followed. Want me to ask her to pose? That's where I blew it. Ugh. Cameras understandably cause tons of suspicion these days. That sort of interaction is a great jumping off point for establishing trust and gaining access. I'm not a threat. Instead I fumbled some idiot words while petting Jackie and moved on. Bye Jackie, I hope you bring your board next time.

This is one of those posts where you and I will both wish I'd written down some notes. You've been warned.

My attempts at cutting back on bread are in that grey area between failure and epic failure. The good news is that my Bahn mí research has gained data. Tangerine Tree (above the QFC) serves up a very solid tofu Bahn mí. Really good. Not perfect. My I've had 3 now I'm an expert take is that I prefer a crusty but not hard baguette. But this is just an attempt at sounding like I know what I'm talking about. I devoured that sandwich. (Note for the Vietnamese Government / Influencer Board- I am currently "in between" sponsorship deals with Los Roast, Peet's, and Patagonia Provisions...I can't imagine that window staying open long...if you need me to do a 30 day all expenses paid Bahn mí expedition, hit me up on my pager or MySpace page. I'd have to check the calendar, but I'm pretty sure I could work you in. Finland, you should not let that dissuade you from hiring me for the 30 day sauna project we haven't discussed.)

Apartments are funny. I'm aware I have neighbors, but the sounds are muffled (thank goodness.) Oddly enough, I can clearly hear conversations on the street. Heard a great one tonight.

Kid (or maybe me): Bunny!!! Come back!

Parent 1: Ahh, the trick with bunnies is you have to be very quiet. You don't want to scare them.

Parent 2 (echoing Parent 1): Yes, bunnies are easily scared.

I was sitting here typing, thinking 1) those parents are awesome and 2) be vewwwy vewwwy qwiett, I am hunting wabbits. And really really really odd segue. For some reason earlier in the day I'd looked up rarebit. My pandemic brain wiring is not firing on all cylinders. I've looked up rarebit before. Today's lookup was a WTF is rarebit. I'm pretty sure firing on all cylinders is a car term.

I'm not a neurobrainologist, but in my sample size of 1, I don't think the internet is doing us many favors. Yes, I'm here on the internet. But I'm trying to re-wire some cylinders. I'm trying to get back into reading. Preferably books, but anything longer than a tweet.

My family got together years ago for a reunion, which gave us the opportunity to toast the impending arrival of another extended family member. My sister had a great idea - we'd all gift some of our favorite books for the soon to be youngster, with some notes about what we liked about the book(s).

I chose The Chronicles of Prydain. I've bought the first edition a couple of times but have never mailed it. I think I lost them in moves. Well, I bought the first book again - The Book of Three - and this time I'm going to send it. But first I'm going to read it. I'm almost finished, and damn if it doesn't hold up well. Just a great coming of age story. (Note: Testing out affiliate links at Bookshop dot org. If I understand it correctly, any purchases of that book through that link generate a small commission for me. My thinking is that it's a win-win for me and the NYC school district that stumbles on this site and purchases 1 billion copies. If that happens, I'll host a subscribers' party at my Hawaii beach front mansion. Flip-flops not included.)

And yet I have some concerns. It's a wonderful story that places a lot of emphasis on treating people with respect, no matter their station or current circumstances. But there's no denying that it still relies heavily on a backdrop of sanctioned violence, with a convenient foe who is undoubtedly evil and not quite human. We find a lot of ways to depict heroism as warriors skilled in the art of reluctant killing.

One should not write about heavy topics late at night. Let's start wrapping this up. The end is nigh.

I mentioned a post or two ago that I might have let some magazines pile up in the corner during the pandemic. I started wading through a few of them today and stopped on a Time Magazine with John Lewis on the cover. I can't remember buying it, must have been shortly after his death.

I cut a few of the photos out to paste into a journal. Unfortunately I tore right through the center of the cover shot. Ugh. Two pages later there was a photo of the photojournalist who took the photo - Steve Schapiro. Amazing photo. He's carrying  5, maybe 6 cameras. How do people do that? Here's the Time article about the photo. The article has examples of a golden era of photojournalism. No, I don't think it's dead, but there's so much more suspicion now and dwindling budgets. There are also some positives - we've gotten better at realizing, you know what, there are locals there who can tell the story. Unfortunately, they're probably being taken advantage of - hey we'd love to credit your photo, think of the exposure! I tore out another page, a photo of Lewis speaking in DC, everyone in suits, ties, and hats. They wore suits like we wear hoodies and Under Armour.

Here's part of the photo. Taking a risk here, but I don't think Time or Schapiro will mind. I read that it was one of Lewis's favorite photos. Not surprising - powerful.

Segue after segue. Let's say fare thee well with a few closing shots.