Saturday, July 24, 2010

a link-heavy tribute

Oh, it's a great big world out there... full of great big people, and some little ones, and lots in between.

Look! Here's Wendy B in hot pink two-tone Versace, celebrating her love for Mr B and remarkably, possessing the shoes to go with it. How does she get the wind to blow her hair around so artfully for the camera?! And she has a little dog in tow (the one on the left) who reminds me of "Gizmo", our neighbor Juan's equally electric pup. (Juan and Camela are heading back to Long Beach to take care of Juan's ailing mom at the end of the year. I'll miss them, partly because my son is infatuated with Gizmo and partly because these two Angelinos had never even SEEN snow before they landed in our neighborhood! We caught nearly 24 inches of the white stuff at one point last winter, and Juan came over to ask "Is this NORMAL? I mean, is this okay?" He looked concerned. I love those two. I'll have to bake them a Tres Leches cake before they go.)

I had breakfast yesterday with Aneesa, who is a public school teacher moonlighting as an activist for ISAIAH, and she gave me the lowdown on our local efforts in transportation and social justice. Since my years with BikeAthens down in GA I've kept a small fire burning brightly in my heart for the needs of folks who can't or don't drive (two-thirds of the American populace in fact, including moi.) Aneesa is an inspiration; between her and the wild rice pancakes with strawberries served me at the Mill City Cafe, I walked away energized towards use of our new community center as a locus for empowering community dialogue around transit, jobs and the local economy.

And finally, I took my scruffy long-suffering self out to drinks with friend JH tonight, and we tried the new Asian/fusion place (if that's what you call it), Ginger Hop, just down the road from the new Grace Center. We talked about everything, which was a relief. He had a couple Eye Candy martinis, I experimented with the Caipirhini before reverting to Mohitos -- and we walked along the Mississippi a little while before ducking into the Aster Cafe to enjoy a glass of Bells. I'm still a little buzzed. Some people are just so funny and smart -- I'm lucky to know the fine folks I do, and to blog with them too. (See the Song of the Day blog at the sidebar).

And yesterday I had a massage and a little energy work with my friend Sally. Thank God for massage. If it weren't for Sally I think I would have lost my mind months ago.

So how can I feel blue for long, when I know such wonderful people? Thanks all!

2 comments:

Manzanita said...

You're right about all the people inbetween. And most of them are waiting for their 15 minutes of fame. But it's an interesting journey and that's all the matters. From Manzanita

WendyB said...

Ha ha! I like this stream of consciousness ... from the dog to the concerned look about the snow etc.

I was wondering the same thing about my hair. How can I do that all the time? How did it happen on a windless night? Strange.