The beer run

We ate take-out again last night. Fish and chips (fish from the Pacific Ocean -- good little swimmers, not at all local) scattered all over the kitchen floor. The dog had a field day. I think he may be dying. I didn't have the heart to stop him. After dinner, we set out on two expeditions. One contingent, led by fearless mom, set off for the grocery store to unleash a little Asian ball of energy among the carefully stacked rows of canned peas. The other, led by hippie prof, set out for the beer store for the more essential supplies. Pre-teen in training, seeing me reach for the car keys, protested. "I thought we'd walk!" Pleased, but knowing that we had about 3 miles of hiking ahead of us, I stowed the keys and pulled out the stroller for boy wonder. We walked past crazy little antique stores, broken down auto shops, a factory or two, some vacant industrial land soon to be filled with trendy loft apartments that will hopefully attract all of the wonderful things that young urban professionals like to fill their time with. On the homeward run, we meandered through tiny little backstreets of war houses that seemed like a kind of North American hutong, filled with the smells of dinner and the sounds of shouting children. We completed the homeward leg with a long walk through the cemetery. I'd never thought of cemeteries as greenspace before, but this one, with its beautiful old benches, massive hardwoods, birds, squirrels, and cooling breezes, is a magnet for dogwalkers, skateboarders, and beershoppers. When I saw it for the first time, it seemed incongruous, if not even a little inappropriate. Now it just seems right. I'd want my body buried in a place like this I think (but lose the big stone and just stick me in a bag to decompose quickly so kids can run on the grass I'd help grow).

As we settle in, we are finding that we're not quite as close to some things (the beerstore) as it seemed at first. But the walks are filled with such interesting sights and sounds, that even long ones seem pleasant and refreshing and the time passes quickly. An 8 year old pre-teen apprentice, who wasn't even going to get a look at the beer (well, ok, just one little sip), was disappointed when the walk was over. Life attracts life, as Jane Jacobs used to say.