--THE HAMMER IS NOTHING WITHOUT THE NAIL

 

…I am home from having been down south a bit at my second home.  (It’s not really my second home, but might as well be.)

I spent the good chunk of a day walking downtown Portland.  It was lovely and mesmerizing, and in some respects similar to San Diego.

I started at a coffee shop called Mug Shots were they played Fleet Foxes “White Winter Hymnal” and Hard Fi “Hard to Beat” (who even knows Hard Fi?) and my favorite Cure song “Close To You.”

I was in Powell’s for well over an hour.  I got a bag of terrific books.  Made me happy.

I saw a shoplifter being chased out of vintage clothing store.  The manager was on the heavy side, so  she gave up quite quickly.  The thief had four pair of pants with the hangers still on them tucked under his arms.  While I don’t condone his actions, he really looked like he could use some new clothes, that and a good meal.

It’s hard not to run into homeless people in Portland.  I decided I would give some money to whoever asked.  I gave away a lot of money.  But that’s okay.

I found this artist sitting on the sidewalk outside some store with her work displayed and I bought a really cool piece.  She was so proud and happy, so of course that made me happy.

I saw a scraggly looking young guy, maybe twenty, pushing a stroller with a toddler inside.  The scraggly dude crossed Broadway in bare feet, smoking while singing to a Green Day song and still somehow managed to get that stroller across the street.

I had some fabulous steak and eggs for breakfast and some delicious sushi for early afternoon Linner (lunch and dinner combined).

I saw some really unique and compelling retail.  I took a ton of pictures, even of odd random things that were artistically appealing.  People would stop and wonder if they shouldn’t be taking a photo as well.  (It’s not too difficult to get me excited about something—just splash some multi-colored paint on an old Schwinn bike and I’ll be clicking away.)

Places I walked by had very fresh, fun names:

Garnish, Fringe, Potted In Portland, It’s All Good, Bamboo, Largo, Zeus Bar, Quick Fish Poke Bar, Self Edge, Wild Fang….

Oh, and I bought some handmade soap (another thing I’m a sucker for), some cool cards and some jewellery.

In case you can’t tell, it was a fantastic day and the night was even way, way better…

...Here are some things to ponder on a Wednesday evening: 

-"I will make love my greatest weapon and none on who I call can defend against its force....My love will melt all hearts liken to the sun whose rays soften the coldest day." Og Mandino

-"Look at everything as though you were seeing it either for the first or last time." Betty Smith

-"Better to do something imperfectly than to do nothing flawlessly." Robert Schuller

-"At first dreams seem impossible, then improbable, then inevitable." Christopher Reeve

-"It's kind of fun to do the impossible." Walt Disney