On Broadway

Bicycles

2006-08-28T17:17:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been seeing a lot of the school kids riding on those fantastic new bicycles that look like they are from the 50's. I love them! They seem to come in some great colors - today I saw red, teal blue and bubblegum pink. With gas over $3 a gallon, it seems like a pretty smart way to get around.

looks like we are going to have to find a new name for Dred Guy. D saw him on her way to work (he doesn't seem to go down our street anymore) without anything on his head and... no dreds. *sigh* It seems all that was under those head wraps was lots of wild and fuzzy hair. Everyone, say hi to Fuzzy Hair guy.

My all time favorite thing to see strolling down our little patch of sidewalk is an elderly couple holding hands. Any couple that can stand to even be around each other after even 30 years gets an "A" in my book, but to still be holding hands after 40 or even 50 years? A+

His message revealed

2006-08-25T18:52:00.000-07:00

I know every day its someone's birthday out there, but it would seem that today it just so happened to be the birthday of one of the kids that went by today. She was walking with a friend and was holding a festive bouquet of pink and baby blue balloons with a star shaped mylar balloon thrown in for a touch of pizzaz. And just in case anyone still didn't get the picture, I heard her tell everyone walking by her "Hi! Today is my birthday!" Bravo! You only get one day a year, birthday girl - milk it for all it's worth!

Even though Dreds Guy has not been spotted in our neck of the woods lately, D caught a glimpse of him while on her way to work. Best of all, she was able to (mostly) read his sign! It is reported to read:
Treason
The numbers don't lie
1 of 1
(The last line might actually read "1 on 1")

I almost missed her, but was able to spot my favorite Gallery Manager this morning. She was scooting by at a pretty quick pace - maybe in an effort to keep warm. It was a bit nippy this morn. Overcast chilly mornings that lead into downright hot afternoons can cause quite a predicament to us walkers. If you wear clothing so your comfortable in the early hours, you are going to be uncomfortable on your return trip. Fashionably dressed Gallary Manager chose the other approach today and opted for a lightweight outfit. Keep a brisk pace to generate warmth on the walk into work and reap the cool refreshing benefits on the walk home.

Young love....

2006-08-24T17:57:00.000-07:00

Ah, sweet romance! The cutest couple walked by today - he, tall and pale with a wavy mop of un-tamable hair. She, darker and curvey. They, a pair of high school student oblivious to the outside world. The were so sweet - they managed to get in not one but two kiss in the time it takes to traverse our little stretch of sidewalk. Do you remember those days? Walking hand in hand and kissing like you just don't care who is watching?

It would seem chivalry is not dead! D and I were trying to do a photo shoot out front and we would have been fine if one of us had just been able to grow that third arm: hold the product, steady the background, keep the diffusion cloth taut (ok, so it was really a white, plastic garbage bag), snap the picture, keep your shadow out of the shot. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a real live all-grown-up boy scout rides by on his bicycle, sees our struggle and offers us a hand (a discussion of whether or not he would have stopped to help had we been a couple of men is the subject of a different blog). If you are reading this, thank you Kent - we appreciated the help!

Fashion Show

2006-08-23T15:03:00.000-07:00

Almost all of the high school kids have finished walking by for the day, and I realized how much I miss them. They're always good for cheap entertainment, and today is the best day of all for it. It's the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL. This is my annual, What's Hot to Wear, free fashion show day. All those clean, new shoes. Fresh stiff backpacks. Bright and shiny faces. Ok, that's pushing it a bit, but there is a certain bounce in their steps that will soon turn to pouty slouches when the wear and tear of high school sets in. I love to see what these kids decide to wear on the first day of school. For me it was always my best, most favorite new outfit. So what do kids these days see as their best? I saw white, white leather tennis shoes, denim skirts with raggedy hems, desert camo capri's (totally cute), and the usual gansta looking baggy pants. New clothes that don't look new. The second hand look. The I can't afford nice clothes look. Honestly, who'd know if they went school clothes shopping or not except for those shoes?
We'll see what's fit for the second day of school. Stay tuned.

Slim Pickins

2006-08-22T18:57:00.000-07:00

Today I realized that I haven't seen the guy with the dreds walk by for the past few days. Maybe there was a freak accident with the teleporter.

Also, I have noticed that National Geographic guy not only now has a red cloth lunch bag he sometimes carries, but that on his return trip he is not carrying the bag at all!

Saw someone I know walk by today. He is a musician friend of my husbands. He was being walked by a rather large brown dog.

Wow... I didn't realize what a slow day it was until I saw it in writing. I need to start taking better notes.

Slow day...

2006-08-17T16:54:00.000-07:00

Busy day at work today so we didn't really get to see too many passers-by.. or is that passer-bys.

There was one woman that stood out today though. She was a rather.. shall we say.. masculine woman, with salt & pepper hair cut into ... wait for it... a mohawk! Gotta love it! She ambled up the street listening to music through an iPod.

I was walking to work today when I realized I myself am prime fodder for someone else's "Here's who walked by today" blog. Their entry for today might go something like this:

"She walked by again today. We assume she is on her way to work as she passes by every weekday morning at the same time, and her return trip time is always about 7 hours later. She is in her mid to late 30's, has gorgeous thick brown hair and usually carries a fuzzy orange felted bag/purse that can best be described as "homemade". She often carries a brown paper lunch bag so we are left wondering what exactly is in that fuzzy orange bag. Perhaps she is a genius working on a cure for cancer and the bag holds her notes. Maybe it holds the ashes of her true love with whom she swore never to be parted. Or maybe she is just extra hungry those days."

Back in Action!

2006-08-16T16:07:00.000-07:00

It's been while since our last entry and we know many of you having been awaiting our next installment with baited breath, so here we go! We promise not to make you wait 4 months until our next one.....

We have a new regular passer-by! He looks to be a young man in his mid 20's. The first morning we noticed him he was sporting a backpack and some sort of white cotton cloth wrapped around what we can only assume are a fabulous set of dreds. He has since acquired a nice white sign with a message written upon it. I have as yet been unable to read it, but as soon as I do, I'll let you know what it says. He also now sometimes wears a black knit cap over his hair. The things I find quite interesting about this young fellow are that a.) he walks past our office every morning at about the same time, b.) he NEVER uses the sidewalk and, most importantly, c.) he is ALWAYS traveling in a northernly direction. I never see him coming back down the street. I can only assume that when he reaches the end of Broadway he is taking advantage of the teleporter recently installed there to whisk himself back to the other end of the street so as to begin his trek the next morning. Or maybe he just walks back down the street after I have gone home from work. I will have to look into that.

One of my favorite regulars is a woman who manages one of the galleries downtown. She ALWAYS dresses so nice - cute and fun but still professional. We sell to the shop she works at so every once in a while she'll pop in with a repair or something. She is as nice as she dresses. I admire her.

We still see National Geographic guy just about every day. I do believe (D, correct me if I am wrong) that he is going down to the local Subway sandwich joint to grab lunch. Which makes me wonder - what is in that green National Geographic bag if it's not his lunch?

We don't get as many kids walking past now, with summer vacation and all. That will change next Wednesday though. We'll be able to set our clocks by the kids bounding joyously home after a another day of agonizing education.

I don't pay attention to the regular vehicles that pass by, but D and I have decided to figure out the schedule of one of those pesky tour buses that barrel down the street so we can have ourselves out on the sidewalk ready to give those tourists a thing or two to write home about...."Marvin and I enjoyed our trip, but on bus ride out of town we spotted a couple of women standing outside picking their noses".

That's all for today.. tune in text time for another spine-tingling episode!

Introduction.

2006-04-19T21:53:00.000-07:00

Since the rain has finally stopped, we're back to eating lunches on the front porch at the office. Everyday that we've sat outside for the past 3 years, at least one interesting thing has passed by. We've decided to document these interesting passersby here on Broadway, for your entertainment as well as our own.
So to begin, let me list the regulars that go by everyday and we'll chart them from here on out.

The first one that comes to mind is the guy I call the National Geographic guy. He walks by in this unique sort of limp/bounce caveman-esque drag, swinging his green zippered National Geographic lunch box. Obviously he got it for subscribing to the magazine, so we know he must be a reader. And a sucker. Hey, get a free green lunch box for subscribing to our magazine! Or maybe he got it at the Goodwill. Who knows, but I like to think he races home to read about African women and can't wait for the newest issue. Today I said hi to him as he walked by and he said hi back! So, he's nice.

There's also a young man who zips by on either side of the street in his electric wheelchair. He's always on his cell phone. Normally I might feel bad for such a young person confined to a wheelchair, but somehow this guy seems undisturbed by it. He has some energy that radiates contentment, even joy. Like maybe he's just faking it and using the chair instead of a motorcycle or something. Anyway, I like watching him zoom past. I want to go with him.

What ever happened to that jogging couple? They were on the large side, and they panted religiously by as we quietly cheered them on. There they go! Keep it up! We're so proud of you! It's been a while though. I wonder if they're back to the couch.

I'll give a brief overview of the other regulars that go by.

Gaggles of high school and junior high school students passing by after school. It's Spring Break right now so it's quiet.
People who determinedly walk by one way and then happily stroll back again with their treasured cuppa joe from the drive thru/walk thru coffee spot.
Numerous people walking by with dogs, little kids and strollers (mostly dads more than moms suprisingly) and business owners going next door for their payroll checks who walk back by with their big orange envelopes.
Oh, and my friend Paul on his way to the post office down the street.

So that's the people side of it. There's also the automotive or vehicular (we just love to say vehicle) side. Since Broadway is also a highway and the main vein going through this rather small town, we see it all. Limo's, buses, delivery vans, motorcycles, ambulances and fire trucks, big rigs (full of grapes during the harvest), hot rods, and the usual boxy cars and gurgling pickups. Generally not so exciting but occasionally something notable happens along that gets our attention for about 4 seconds. My favorite was an old and kinda rusty pale blue pickup truck with a faded red star that reminded me of the Texaco logo but wasn't, painted on the door. In the 3.5 seconds I had to admire it, I didn't get a chance to check out the driver or passenger, but I know there were at least two grey hairs inside. My least favorite regular is the casket truck. Batesville or something grossly and falsely happy sounding. Seeing it always ruins my day.

So, we'll keep blogging our adventures and hopefully you'll get as much vicarious enjoyment of our free entertainment as we do.