lost and found

So strange all the things that get lost and found, in a move. This time the lost items were a library card, a mixing bowl and a rolling pin. Who knows. And one of the finds was a 5x7” spiral notebook. It's one of many that have been riders next to me in my truck: aides to the short-term memory. Only since this one carries notes from 2004 it must be part of permanent storage now. Summer '04 was my first trial run living in Portland.

Of course, it's a silly practice to try and preserve too much memory – everything passes, everything finds its place, hopefully what's needed remains. But it's only as silly as observing beauty in the world -- in the moment -- which is a lot of what these little notebooks are about for me. Not so much holding onto time or thought as holding onto a sense of collective humanity. And also learning to see – to travel through life with the eyes more fully open. And maybe it's a way to give an admiring nod to all the fellow humans around me whose beauty is spontaneous, inexplicable and, as for far too many, completely unremembered. So, in that spirit, here are a few of the quotes that are maybe worth saving, from the '04 memory book.

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(Context: I'm walking out of Mississippi Studios on a Saturday night, and two guys on the sidewalk start talking to me. They're unlocking their bikes, which are parked right next to my truck. They're not flirting – it's more like they were already engaged in animated talk and have decided, on sight, that I need to be included. They introduce themselves as Arthur and Liam. They're both 30ish, kind of geeky, but their candor and animation are contagious, and they strike me as two guys who are just really into Life. After a few minutes' conversation, we agree to go check out some other music across town. I load their bikes into my camper and we all crowd into the truck, talking like we've already been friends for some time. Arthur does most of the talking, and several of his surprising pronouncements are right on the mark. So much so that later I find a minute to write a few of them down in this notebook, which is in my truck already.)

“We travellers know each other.”
“I used to worry about overpopulation..now I think of the world as having more creative mass...”
“I don't want to be mis-an-throp-ic”...(he pronounces the word with extreme care, as if his elocutionary caution could safeguard against unwanted character developments)
“You liked to read and write about things when you were younger, didn't you?”

(We just hang out this one evening, then they take their bikes and go. But they're good entertainment. At one point, they're discussing a performance they recently saw somewhere.) Arthur: “That one woman had that audience in the palm of her hand...” Liam: “Yeah, and that part with the vegetables was completely Samuel Beckett.” Arthur (in a very disinterested voice): “Oh, was it? Okay...”


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A local public radio DJ: “It's 5:22, and the day's...perfect! It's perfect, just as it is.”


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In the Hollywood neighborhood, late afternoon: a man takes a break from his work, painting the business name on the front of a salon. He is 30something, shaved head, full mustache, dark coppery skin, confident bearing. He leans back against the stucco wall in a metal chair, talking on a cell phone, looking like he hasn't got a care in the world. Just above his head like a pronouncement is the bold lettering which he has almost finished: “HAIR STUD”.


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(Song lyric, from a pop station)

She said in the days
when you were clumsy and poor
I only liked you more
and if you have five seconds to spare
I'll tell you the story of my life


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(from an interview on the radio)
“But, Dr. Bob Goldman, doesn't it get to a point where it almost smacks of desperation? What's wrong with growing old gracefully – or even disgracefully?”


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Two pizza deliveries:
A cheerful, middle-aged white guy answers his front door: “So they got a nice decent lady like you to deliver pizza to a nice decent ugly man like me...”

A charming, middle-aged black man in the Domino's parking lot tells me this: “You stay sweet, now. I become a millionaire I'ma come back and get you. This girl works hard.”