People I Saw . . . Near Zupans

There have been few times in my life that I have thought I wanted children. One of them was this time. Back when I worked on 30th and Belmont, I took a lunch break and walked to Zupans. It was a gray day and I was probably feeling a little morose. But I passed this family. A mother and her two sons. Really typical in that neighborhood. But the older kid was like, "C'mon! What are you doing?" and was standing there staring incredulously at his younger brother. The younger kid was just kind of softly singing to himself and clinging to this tree trunk. But as I got closer I realized that he also had this massive green marker beard and mustache. All over his face. I made eye contact with the mother and we both just kind of cracked up. And I thought, I want that kid.  

People I Saw at the Waterfront

The best thing about the weather getting nicer? There is a constant stream of activity in Waterfront Park. Public exercisers, public maker-outers, public tai chi enthusiasts (why do they have to do it in public? Is that part of the rules?), public lurkers, public karate kings, I see you. And I thank you. Especially these guys. What is it with awkward white guys and karate?

One of them said, "We should totally spar sometime."
The other said, "Okay."

People I saw at the Beach

Easter will never be the same.

Forgoing the usual ham and hard-boiled egg combo, Sam and I lashed our surfboards to the top of my car, stuffed my parents and their dog Newt in the backseat, and took off for Pacific City. It was a beautiful day. Sunshine. Good waves. First surf day of the year. Plus there was this lady sitting on driftwood, smoking her cigarette, flying her cheap drugstore kite. There was something oddly compelling about the passive disinterest across her face juxtaposed with the frantic jittering of the kite at the end of its string. We passed by her on our way to rinse off under the outdoor shower and then enjoy a beer on the patio in the last sunshine of the afternoon. Easter Surfday: a new tradition.

People I saw at the Graveyard Show, Vol 2.

I never see celebrities in Portland, so when I saw one of the guys from Danava standing around between sets, I totally did the, Oh look, the guy from Danava, right? Right? thing to Sam and he said yeah, and then the guy from Danava looked at me, probably because hearing your band name, even if it's not said very loudly, is kind of like hearing your name in the middle of an otherwise inaudible conversation. He was wearing bootcut jeans and talking to a lady but I didn't notice her because I was too busy focusing on this mild almost-celebrity encounter. Sam asked me if I noticed her later, because apparently she was wearing this nutty white robe thing that maybe came up over her head, or included a head drape portion, or turban, and I had no idea what he was talking about. Apparently that's how excited I get about Danava.

People I saw at the Graveyard Show, Vol 1.

Metal shows are just the best for people watching. You see so many interesting people and for some reason, they just stick out in my memory a lot more than the typical flannel-wearing, soft leather shoe, tortoiseshell glasses types. Take this girl for instance. I noticed her waiting in line for a drink because she had an enormous neck tattoo and I started thinking about how not tough my tattoos are and what I would get if I were to get a neck tattoo. Probably a manatee. And all I could really see was her torso because it was pretty crowded in there (sold out show!). But then, when I walked past her, it turned out that she was wearing these crazy lace bell bottoms and platform boots. Lace! Bell bottoms! Underwear!