I've gone on one run where I got tangled in police tape, but that was only once.
The blue police lights seem to have been placed on the light posts for an element that has largely vanished. Now families barbecue along the sidewalk and set up lawn chairs. Usually when we're out here one of our friends will start playing music off their phone, someone else going on a beer run to the Mexican supermarket on the corner.
Street vendors frequently pass by. The butter and lime juice on the elotes is intoxicating. The elote man makes a fuss about breaking twenties but he will, which gives me change to buy a raspa off the raspa man. The Girlfriend tells me I have a fruit punch mustache now but I don't care. Lamar's three legged pinscher and Vanessa's pit rescue (who was used as a bait dog in fighting circuits and has the neck scar tissue to prove it) chase each other and roll around, panting and licking at our faces. Today's the anniversary of the 3 Paris attacks by Islamic terrorists, and in the midst of everyone posting in remembrance of those who died, filtering their profile pictures with the French flag yet again, I sip bone broth from a thermos, homemade, and remind everyone with my own status update, "Yeah, the killing of 17 victims in 3 separate acts was despicable, and it's great that 1.5 million people marched in unity with Paris, including 40 world leaders. Well done. But did anyone hear about Nigeria? 2000 civilians, including women and children, were massacred by terrorists that very week. Why was nobody marching for them? Any world leaders planning a trip to Lagos or Abuja? Too busy? Bad flight connections? Just asking. Imagine the statement we could make." People ask in the comments if they can copy and paste this into their own status. The likes and shares cast over me like a heated blanket. A week ago we saw the 9 bus collide with a bicyclist, and now someone's written on the pavement in chalk #bikelivesmatter. The churro man arrives and I regret buying the elote. The girlfriend drinks her Victoria and looks at the sky.
The park has a very inviting atmosphere that allows so many parties to take place at once without feeling like you're overstepping. So we can all enjoy the beautiful day and not accidentally mix with each other. Conversations gravitate to shows. We're all sitting in a circle with a phone in the middle playing Arcade Fire, and Zeke is practically panting, asking if we've seen Jessica Jones yet. The Girlfriend and I are halfway through it, but that's enough for us to praise its portrayal of rape and the white male gaze, that's until Tyler makes inarticulate zipping noises and says he hasn't seen it yet ("No spoilers"). He's still working through Deadwood, which I want to see next, except The Girlfriend keeps telling me how great Fargo is and how I need to watch the second season, regardless if I haven't seen the first. We all share our theories for next season's Game of Thrones. Tyler shows us a video on his phone and we all huddle around him and watch a mudslide destroy a whole industrial district in some Chinese province.
Before we know it it's dark, and the street lights flicker on and the blue police lights are even brighter now, but the other families are still here, their kids still enjoying the surprisingly nice today. Hurray global warming. The day at the park has been so nice that I feel like I'm forgetting something. I have to do something, that something that needs to be done is going undone, but I can't remember what that is. I need to return some Redbox movies. I need to clean the microfiber lens cloth that cleans my glasses. Soapy warm water and hand washed, it's not safe in the washer. I need to get the oil changed. I need to eat more ginger. The Girlfriend sees the look on my face and hands me another beer. read more