Hello, reader. How are you? Ming and I did a river trail trash cleanup with our housemate. I agonized over whether to go. River cleanups are my values, but I didn’t know if I had the physical or social stamina. We stopped at a chocolate shop afterward and bought a present for Bunny.
Here is Bunny with his chocolate carrot which was on sale because it’s broken. Doesn’t he look happy?
He’s keen on carrots, and he’s keen on me and Ming. Of course he cannot actually eat, so Ming will do him the favor of eating the chocolate carrot.
BLM
The river cleanup, we were surprised there was not very much trash. We were doing it through the Audubon Society, but the Bureau of Land Management–not to be confused with another BLM–was there too, partnered with the Audubon Society.
The dude with the white truck from the Bureau of Land Management supplied the grabber tools, trash bags, and buckets. And the sharps containers. Our housemate friend carried one of the sharps containers. She picked up two needles with a grabber tool and a piece of glass.
The Bureau of Land Management guy said, “If you encounter members of the public who make you uncomfortable, just avoid those individuals. We are not here to engage them. Law enforcement is in the area, doing another project, so please, don’t hesitate to contact us for law enforcement. We want you to be safe–that’s our priority here.”
Afterward Ming told me that this little speech about the danger of homeless people made him want to turn around and leave. He was squicked that we were doing it for the Bureau of Land Management who was that allied with the cops.
“Wow, I can’t believe you wanted to leave!” I said. “I noticed it. But I didn’t want to leave.”
It made me wish I was wearing my Black Lives Matter shirt. Any time I do an event that’s related to the Bureau of Land Management, I’d like to wear that shirt to support the other BLM.
graffiti
We encountered this pyramid graffiti near a bridge, and I like it.
It reminded me of something I’ve seen painted on a train–something I saw on a train in Needles, California a couple years ago. Bummer–I searched for a picture and can’t find it.
Are pyramids in graffiti a thing? Maybe it’s separate, or maybe it’s the same artist.
chocolate shop
The chocolate shop was on my mind because we parked right by it. A worker came out and said, “I hate to ask you, but can you not park right in front of our store? It’s the second-busiest day of the year for us.”
Ming moved his car. Then afterward we went in–none of us had been there before. Our housemate bought some Easter chocolates for the house, and we bought Bunny that carrot. Ming bought a couple truffles, and I bought myself a white chocolate Easter bunny. It was the day before Easter.
“Did you have a lot of candy for Easter, when you were a kid?” I asked my housemate. She comes from the midwest. I imagined her family.
“Yeah,” she said.
I wondered if we were both having childhood candy feelings. It smelled great in there. A worker was wearing a very pretty Easter dress. I complimented her and hoped I didn’t seem like a flirtatious creep.
art
Yesterday I made this art.
First I made the side parts. They are on reclaimed product packaging cardstock. There are stars. The words say You Are Valid and Your Needs Matter.
Then I thought–jeeze. That’s kind of boring. I wish I drew more of a picture.
So I decided to draw a bunny to stick in the middle. I drew my white chocolate Easter bunny on reclaimed product packaging cardstock. I wanted my art to feel spooky, curious, mythological, and elemental like this bunny song.
Yes, I love that song Moon by Sufjan Stevens. I don’t know why it has so few likes. Poor marketing, or it’s too noisy? Maybe because it’s a collaboration. I think it’s amazing.
Not sure my art accomplished what I set out to do. But I’m happy to make art. Not all of it can be my favorite. I’m happy to try new things.
And you never know what other people need. Maybe someone needs that.
