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Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Maybe I Should Reevaluate

I am standing on Hennepin Avenue, waiting for a bus.

Hennepin, as you may recall, is the only street in the world where I have been mistaken for a prostitute.

Twice.

Today, however, I am not mistaken for a prostitute but an ATM.

“Do you have any change?”

I look at her.  “Yes,” I deadpan.

"Can I have some?"

"No."

She moves on to the next person.

By the time the bus arrives, I have been standing in the sun for a full 40 minutes -- which, by the way, is enough time to freckle yet retain office pallor.  

It is a good ten minutes into the ride that I realize that this is not my beautiful bus (with apologies to The Talking Heads).  The funny thing is that, once you’ve boarded a bus, there’s no real way of knowing what bus you’re on.  I mean, sure, you could ask someone, but where’s the sport?

Behind the bus driver is a wall of bus schedules.  I’m on either the 18 or the 11.  The 18 would’ve dropped me off a few blocks ago.  The 11 takes me roughly 12 blocks from home.

Eventually I de-bus and point my feet in the correct direction.  Less than a block in front of me is a weathered man dressed for urban camping.  He appears to be speaking into what may or may not be a walkie-talkie.  

When I reach him, I stop, look at what he's looking at. On the ground, lying in the grass and reaching for the hedge there is a white squirrel.  He is perfect, no trauma, and yet he is dead.  

“He is never going to reach that hedge,” I say.

The man with the walkie talkie gives me a stern look.  “But ya just gotta keep reaching, right?”


And I walk home thinking about that.

24 comments:

Silliyak said...

Hey! there IS a ♥️ thingy!

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari Om
Pearl!... never stop pondering that... (and I am of the opinion it was NOT the wrong bus, given the discovery made). Good t'see ya mate. YAM xx

sage said...

A white squirrel, dead or alive, might be a sign...

jenny_o said...

He/she died reaching. Yes, that would be a worthy epitaph. Keep on trudging, Pearl. You never know what today will hold. Or tomorrow.

Sioux Roslawski said...

Good grief, Pearl. You run into philosophers when you're getting on, getting off or riding the bus.

Elephant's Child said...

Welcome back.
Glad to see that you are still reaching. And connecting.

Linda O'Connell said...

just be careful not to over reach. I miss your bus trips and daily interactions with society's under belly. Not you, Mary.

River said...

Just keep reaching, one day the future will be yours. Of course by then it will no longer be the future, but simply "today".
I didn't know squirrels came in white.

Gigi said...

Ahhhh!!! A post from Pearlie-Girl! Made my day.

Saimi said...

If you don't reach, you'll never get anything - perhaps the squirrel reached for the end.

Should Fish More said...

Never seen a white squirrel.....but I do know that prepared correctly grey and fox squirrels make a fine stew. If this helps at all....
Cheers, kid. Nice to see you back.

Mike

Starting Over, Accepting Changes - Maybe said...

Maybe he was Jesus ( the man, not the squirrel) . In this year, anything is possible.

Geo. said...

Some encounters enter thought and are elevated to symbols. This sounds like one. A fascinating tableau.

Jono said...

Maybe the squirrel will make it to the hedge in its next life. If it gets a second chance.

vanilla said...

Sense of humor intact even when walking away from the "wrong" bus. Finding you here this morning made my day.

Chickens Consigliere said...

Maybe the hedge was the obstacle, not the destination

Buttons alias Grace said...

Missing you Pearl. HUGS B

Science IT and Leisure said...

great

Geo. said...

Pearl?

Twisted Scottish Bastard said...

I've been told that fried squirrel is very tasty.

Bill Lisleman said...

A great feature of comment sections is no one is allowed the last word. Anyone can browse by and drop another comment, ad infinitum. Only if the comment section closes does a last word occur. Also your comment section allowed me to use a Latin phrase. This Latin opportunity seldom occurs in my conversations. I only brought this up to provide myself a Latin phrase opportunity. Note, I probably will use this last word comment on a few other blogs soon.

Geo. said...

Good Lord, I miss you!

Suldog said...

How are you, Pearl? Just trying to catch up with some of my blogging buddies and I see you haven't posted in quite a while. Hope all is well. God bless.

Notes From ABroad said...

I would end up obsessing over why the squirrel died.
G’nIght, C