Sunday, September 11, 2016

It Ain't Easy ...


It's rained off and on nearly all weekend,
sometimes a gentle, misting shower, other times
a drenching downpour.
This was indicated by the way the rain
had soaked the utility pole on West 86th Street.
Wind had blown the precipitation nearly
around the pole, leaving a long, dry streak on
its north side. The result was a lovely,
jade green band in the middle of a field of
almost olive green. 



Tuesday, September 6, 2016

I Didn't Want to Look ...


I almost didn't.
I went to a morning swim practice
Monday at the Riviera Club, then took 
the bus home. While headed west on 10th Street,
I saw two young women standing in the middle of 
the street. As traffic passed on both sides
of the women, I wondered, "What the hell?"
because the street is narrow.  
"What the HELL were they doing there?"
The bus slowed down and,
just before it reached where the women 
were standing, the bus driver screamed, 
braking to an immediate halt.
She unbuckled and leaped from her seat,
and was quickly on her phone to call for help. 
An oncoming driver had hit one of the women. 
I couldn't bring myself to look ... I don't have 
the emergency skills to assist an injured person. 

But when I finally looked ...  
the driver of the truck had come to a stop 
on the sidewalk and was out to check on the person
he'd hit. Other cars had stopped, the drivers had
gotten out to assist the victim and to
direct traffic around the scene. One of the bus
passengers was a practical nurse on her
way home from work. She pulled an
extra pair of surgical gloves from her pocket,
putting them on as she went to help.
On of the passers-by was an EMT who also
stayed on the scene.
It seems that anyone who had a phone
had called 9-1-1.

I see hatred and prejudice every day reflected
in the posts on FB and other on-line outlets.
But I didn't see it there, in the middle of the street
on Monday afternoon. All I saw was people,
black and white, working to help someone who'd
been injured. She was crying, scared, and hurt, 
but she wasn't alone.
Strangers had stopped to help.


I was reminded that I need to 1) take first aid classes;
2) people are generally decent and will do the right
thing; 3) never stand in the middle of the road 
to wait for traffic to pass, and 4) no one, except for
the POTUS or his equivalent, or a doctor, needs to be on
their cell phone while driving.

Monday, September 5, 2016

Wannabe Terrazzo



These spots of sidewalk are located just outside 
the entry to the IUPUI Natatorium,
heaved above the level pavement by the winter cold.
 Rather than dig them up and replace them,
crews have taken to smoothing down the
uneven edges to match their mates.
You can see the arcs made by the grinders, 
reflected by the light from the wet pavement.


Sunday, September 4, 2016

Library: Theme Day, Three Days Late


Just short of a year ago, I posted about a series of art 
installations called The Public Collection.
You can read these posts here, here, and here.
They have proved to be popular, so much so that
the library is asking the public for donations of books
in order to replenish the sites' offerings.


Originally there were nine stations opened 
at various sites around the city.
Recently it was announced that a tenth
site will be added early next year
and that one of the installations at the IMA
will be moved to the 
Marion County Juvenile Center in order to
provide more books and art for the 
children at that facility.