yoga and basil

I wanted to talk to him. It had been so long.
There had to be a reason, right?
Was he gone, was he ok, was the collective imagination of my brain connectors creating a bad habit.
We'd gone this long without talking, many times.
I'd just have to wait it out. I could talk to other people or something.
So I did some yoga, then went downstairs to prune the basil.

Thankful for all my frenemies

Artu: "That is the true story of Thanksgiving. Squanto was the first frenemy."

Slim Jim/Ginger Ale

So yesterday morning I pass by this hobo. I've seen her here on and off but lately she's been hanging around more consistently.
She's sitting on a bench, talking story with two other characters.
I pass through the conversation and we all say our hellos. As I walk off she calls out, "See ya later, slim jim!"
"Don't call her slimjim," her friend says. I laugh out loud but don't turn around.

Later in the day I pass again. This time it's just her.
She's grinning at me from a block away. I can't wait to hear what she's going to say.
"So how do you stay so thin?" she greets me.
"I don't know," I shrug. "But keep it up, here's a dollar."
"Well, what do you do, do ya exercise?" she asks.
"Yeah, I exercise."
"Good for you," she crows as I walk away. "Good for you."

Another time the same lady hobo was standing on the corner drinking out of a big green soda bottle.
"They was trying to lock me up for drinking ginger ale!" she says gleefully to anyone. "Can you believe it? Ginger ale! Haw-haw."
She takes a long slurpy sip. "Mmm-mm, ginger ale."

And you know, I was thinking about ginger ale all day, and drank some later on.

Welcome back to America

Hello Mister DC Street Vendor Sir.

Hello miss. See anything you like?

I'm on a search for paraphernalia befitting a brother who has been out of the country for the past two years. I see you have an array of Michael Jackson T shirts. My brother was abroad when we lost MJ. Do you have any more of this white one with the electro-luminescent coloring?

No miss, that's the last one.

But it's dirty, and faded from sitting in the sun. And it's an XL. My brother's a skinny guy, like MJ.

Well miss, this is the very first T shirt I started selling when the King of Pop left us back in June. This here is the last one. You can have it for free.

Wow, are you sure? I didn't know this T shirt had such a rich history.

Just tell your brother, he can wash it. And tell him, welcome back to America.

Now That's Love

And then the old-as-dirt, toothless, African American gentleman who always talks to me about the Redskins and of whom consists the entire building maintenance staff came along and washed all the bird sh!t off my 2nd-story office window. Now that's love.

Pictures from Haarlem

After the Mean Train Lady Almost Charged Me E40 for Putting My Feet Up

A Touch of Rain

At the Market

Housetops

And Again With the Bikes... Double Stacked for Added Pleasure

Tall Trees

Zandvoort

Last Morning in Europe

Didn't Go to the Van Gogh Museum, But Did See Van Gogh's World

Bonus: Layover at the Reykjavik Airport. Next Trip: Iceland???...

Pictures from Brussels

"Mussels in Brussels"

The Lights Glisten on Rain-Frosted Cobblestone Behind the Travelers

Fireworks Display

Skate Park - Alas, Empty

British Influence

Contraband Moleskins - Not Sold in the US

Tibetan Influence

Legoland

Swine Nap

La Grande Place