Rewired

Well, since our house became rewired to the internet a few weeks ago, I guess I don't have so many excuses not to keep up with myself here. And since a real writer should be able to write about the mundane, and not only while adventuring, I really don't have ANY excuses not to write.

This week I came down to Los Angeles to visit one of my brothers. LA is a real zap out of my normal reality. Here are a few key things I've noticed so far.

1. space
2. space
3. real homeless people
4. fancy shiny people

And in more depth:

1. SPACE FOR THINGS:
Okay, my first concern is space. Incredibly, in places like this where there are so many buildings forever, country things must be put inside of city spaces. For example, I am used to gas stations and service centers being on the edges of town.

Where I grew up, gas stations were never in the thick of the city, and service centers were usually somewhere next to a corn field or an intersection or behind somebody's barn next to a pile of tires. Well, here, if you put the gas stations all on the outside, you'd never be able to get to them in time when you needed them. It would take far too long. So things like gas stations, service stations, and even things like grocery stores and pet supply stores are all mixed up in one mad jumble.

Because there's no space to give them their own space.

City streets aren't just for restaurants and bike shops and bookstores, I guess. I had forgotten. My God! In the parking garage where I parked yesterday, a Trader Joe's appeared to be connected to the very parking levels! It was very beautiful for me, because I was so hungry and I could buy a fresh apple right away.

And my second concern: space.

2: SPACE FOR PEOPLE
My second space concern is space as it relates to people and their explorations. This is how it happened. I was having lunch with Chris and his friend and I suddenly thought: "I wonder where Chris's power tools are? I wonder if Chris gets to build anything here? He's so good at building things, what if he forgets how?"

And then I had lots of memory images brush forefont: Chris building his house, working on his car, making the barn apartment, roofing and siding our house, cutting up firewood with the chainsaw, and so on. And then I thought... but there's no space!!! Where would he do any of that, let alone store things like chainsaws or carpentry tools in a place where space rents for tens of dollars per square foot?

Of course my first worries were that Chris might not be using some of his great skills, and I felt sad at the thought he wasn't measuring things and installing windows and so on, because he's so clever at such things. But then I also thought about how he gets to fool around every weekend hang-gliding and surfing and camping and hiking and rock climbing. And he does seem very happy. It is understandable to me that people might prefer hang-gliding to nailing down asphalt singles.

But I kept thinking about it. I think he and many other people work all day and then they get to fool around at night and on the weekends. I began thinking "why don't I get to fool around?" and I decided it was because I have a mule and garden and two jobs at living-wage pay.

Why do I have a garden? I asked myself. And I know why. Besides all of the beauty and joy and fascination... I like to have something to invest in. My ultimate goal, really, is to have my own house so I can spend my time planting fruit trees and shearing sheep.

And I can see that living here in LA, where space is awfully limited, investing in the space around you might not come as naturally. Because where does one have room to make anything for herself? Or himself?

And so it's an interesting thought that there might be this huge workforce (and I imagine them all to be single and 30 and living in rentals) that goes to work each day to help complete somebody else's project, and then gets off work and spends the rest of their time playing. Work and play. Work and play.

It seems like a happy leisurely thing for the short-term, but I would grow nervous with it in the long term, not having time to invest in my personal surroundings... building and planting, you know (geez, I'm such an agrarian). I suppose I see my current life as "work for them, work for me, work for them, work for me" or "their projects, my projects..." rather than work/play. And that's my own choice, for all my whining about being too busy.

But here's the ridiculous part... for all my talk of INVESTING -- which in my case means a vegetable garden and some mason jars -- I have no money saved, but my brother does. Which means he'll own his own home on some tropical island and be cutting his own firewood again (for fun) while I'll still be in some rental wondering whether to use my last garden bed for potatoes or garlic.

#3 and #4: REAL HOMELESS PEOPLE AND FANCY SHINY PEOPLE
The homeless people here are very different from the homeless people in Corvallis.

The ones here keep their belongings in carts, beg for money and food, have cardboard signs, and have sensible cardboard sleeping shelters.

The homeless people in Corvallis have sleeping bags and sometimes tents, often bicycles, don't beg (because they have more money than I do?), and party in central park and the church parking lot ALL DAY LONG with endless bags of booze and cigarettes.

It's like people who are homeless for a living versus people who are homeless for the hell of it. Our homeless people have much more fun than the ones here in LA, who look a little stressed out and unhappy (except for the ones I saw dancing on the beach).

Fancy shiny people also live here in LA, and there are many more of them than homeless people. The fancy shiny people have fancy shiny clothes, cars, and hair. They are more fun to watch than the homeless people because they seem happier and have more energy. Also, they have more gadgetry that I don't understand. They often come in pairs or in small pods, like whales. Only they aren't like whales at all. They're more like jingling butterflies. Are they even human? They are so otherworldly. But sure enough, below the wings, they still have an insect body.

Ha ha. They'll never transcend the rest of us completely.

~April