Category: Street & Travel

Hints of Before

A close-up view of a wall where a light switch was long ago taken out and patched over

We’ve lived in our house for 15 years, and while our time together is probably coming to a close, it will continue on as a home for someone else as it has since it was built in the 1920’s. There are lots of little hints in a house this old of those who went before, for whom this house was also home. In my office I’ve always had a fondness for this long-ago patched-over light switch or dimmer control, for reasons I can’t fully explain, except that I can see it from my couch and it reminds me daily that everything has its time and place, but nothing lasts forever.

Forest Gnome

A gnome statue peers out from a tree cavity

When I first got started in wildlife photography, when I’d come across a hole or a cavity I assumed that if you waited a while, you’d see the creature that lived there. I learned long ago that you often don’t see the animal, and maybe nothing is living there at all, so when I saw this creature greeting the morning sun from its tree home I approached cautiously and respectfully, took a few pictures, then continued on my way.

Strangely Familiar

The Starbucks in Shinagawa in Tokyo in 2005

I was in Japan for the first time on a work trip in 2005 and a colleague who had been there before wanted to stop off at this Starbucks before we reached the office. I had only been out of the United States once before (to China), and am always a little befuddled by travel even in the US, so I was still rather out of sorts. But this Starbucks turned out to be strangely familiar. Not the store itself, I don’t drink coffee and to this day don’t know what all those coffee terms mean, but while waiting on my friend I heard someone call out my name. I turned and saw it was one of my colleagues from Tokyo, I didn’t know we were so close to the office, and suddenly I felt more at ease.

It was a fun trip and on my last day, about to head to the airport from Ueno Park, someone actually stopped me and asked for directions to the zoo. Directions I was able to give! I can’t even give proper directions to most places in Portland, my sense of geography is terrible, but I had passed the zoo on the way to the park from the train and was able to help this couple find their way.

Mitsubishi Motors

Mitsubishi cars on display in the middle of a tall building in Tokyo in 2005

From my visit to Tokyo in the spring of 2005, taken on the way from the office to the hotel. I had never seen cars on display this many floors up before, you can probably tell I’ve spent very little time in big cities.

Ellie’s Path

A sign indicates no thru traffic on the leaf-covered Klickitat Street in the Irvington neighborhood of Portland, Oregon

Ellie wanted to head east out of the dog park this morning instead of her traditional south, so we headed out along the leaf-covered Klickitat Street. This part of the street is closed to car traffic except for people with driveways here, so it’s a nice place to walk with your aging pup, especially when paved with fallen color. Eventually Ellie turned south and we continued all the way to her buddy Steve’s house. He wasn’t out so we took a detour west past America’s Noodle and then past the dialysis center with the mural, then doubled back to Steve’s (still not out) before heading home.

A graffiti-covered truck is parked outside America's Noodle in Portland's Irvington neighborhood

Thanksgiving

Leaves sit on artwork of flowers in a sidewalk

Ellie and I came across this example of life imitating art imitating life on our walk on a rainy November morning. I’m thankful for this old neighborhood we’ve lived in for over fifteen years, for the pup who’s led me out to explore it for nine, and to all those who’ve installed art around their homes for us to enjoy. We’ll likely have to move as I look for a new job but there is still some hope we can stay. Regardless I’m thankful for our time here, we’ve been blessed.