"Don't forget my senior discount. I'm older than I look"

God it smells good this morning. It’s cool and sprinkling and I’m getting a small cold, but even through the snot the eucalyptus and sage brush and dirt was suddenly lifted as the heat lifted and for a small second I was reminded of the empty desert, not the city desert.
And then I got on the light rail with my headphones in and a young mom was blasting rap music to her baby. His hair spotty in places. She was laughing with him, trying to teach him how the headphones worked except the rap music was so loud and explicit. Everyone was staring. It’s hard not to judge people on how they raise their children. It’s a baby, not a boyfriend. But look at me, I’ve had a baby cat for 3 days and I’m an expert…

I gave my seat up for a blind man wearing a mesh trucker hat that said “Don’t forget my senior discount. I’m older than I look” and a button on his shirt “VIP: visually impaired person” For him, I’m sure it’s like putting on your socks, not forgetting your keys. These are the badges that get him through the day.

It’s pouring now and I’m drinking pomegranate tea at my desk (forgoing the coffee today for something more lubricating), loving the view we have on the higher floors. Last night we saw a small dust storm swallow the outskirts. We’ve seen rainbows and sunsets and planes take off from up here.

The cold medicine is kicking in and I’m rambling in very different directions, but today for the first time probably ever in my adult life, I was walking down the street (not the walking part, I do that a lot) with my music loud and I started singing (this part) out loud down an empty sidewalk in the sprinkles like one of those crazy people like the woman I saw Thursday salsa dancing on the light rail platform and as a vintage pink chevy drove past, it felt like this could be my city soon.

——-

Kitty Notes:
Mazda is amazing and starving and sucking like a fiend on the bottle. We were worried because she hadn’t pooped yet, but she finally did this morning and I’m sure felt infinitely better as she wanted to eat again and started purring in my hand and licking my fingers. My apologies for talking about cat poop. It won’t happen again.