One Hundred Days / One Hundred Thoughts... Or So: MOVIN' ON

July 10, 2016

Wimbledon Men's final.. I was sucked in to the Womens' Final yesterday and didn't realize that because London is eight hours ahead, Serena Williams had already dominated and won. I was posting stuff on Facebook that was current to me, but old news.. duh..

I kind of like confessing stuff like that. To follow up, it was my initial intention to go to the gathering at the Adams Square Service Station (It's been declared an Historical Building!) and sit quietly for an hour or so with my sign (PEACE .. spelled out in Trader Joe's cookies..a photo, not the actual cookies, though I like that idea. )... but, just as I was preparing to go, my sweet neighbor and her wonderful doggie appeared and we arranged to walk down to the event together. I planted my sign by the front of the driveway leaving the idea for a peace 'demonstration' at home.

The gathering featured the building open with props from a local prop house and the festivities hosted by our local historical society maven, Arlene Vidor. She is a tireless advocate for our neighborhood and for Glendale History. Featured were free six and a half ounce Cokes and an old Coke Machine, as well as some folks in vintage attire and about a hundred or so neighbors enjoying the afternoon.

For some reason, the notion of making a 'statement' for Peace made me really nervous. The political tenor of the area is mixed. One woman who is a staple in the Neighborhood Association as is her hat (who sports a TrXXX sign in her yard) sat at the information table. It was festive and local, though I feel so little connection to my neighbors. As much as I would like to be influential, it's overridden by the need to make nice politically with people whom I don't seem to have much in common with. Good politics finds a way to communicate. I find myself with very little to say. That's on me, of course. That the neighborhood association feels to me like a clique of people who have decided to run things is also on me. That some of them ignore my request to be involved must somehow be on me, too, but I'm not sure why. I just want to get things done.

With all that said, the event was a nice one. The Adams Hill Neighborhood Association must take credit for engineering the food trucks and the props and getting the City to do the work of hauling all the stuff to and from the site. The City will work with a 'group' but is more hard pressed to deal with individuals like me. If I could organize local artists into a collective, that might make a difference? C'est la vie..

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Does anyone who reads my ramblings read Chinese characters? My friend, Ken Rugg, gave me this chop years ago and I'm just now discovering some of its secrets.