I SPY

Recently two very important events occurred that made me recommit to the act of observation that Sherlock Holmes advised me to pursue when I was a youngster.. .” never trust to general impressions, my boy, but concentrate yourself on details.” The two events were random but, oddly, related. My wife bought new furniture for the front porch and the weather dramatically improved from biblical rains to bright sunny days. This created a perfect perch to spy on the activities of the denizens of 92128.

I iced a sparkling water and settled into my post.

As it happens our across the street neighbor, had recently passed away and the surviving son hired an estate sale company to manage the liquidation of his long accumulated effects. On a Monday, I observed a worker do a most interesting thing. First a folding chair was arranged near the right rear tire of an aging mini-van. In short order, a card table was placed and adorned with a thermos and a bottle of cleaner. For the next 45 minutes (by the clock), the man washed and polished this single wheel until it was bright as the newly returned sun. Most of his polishing swipes were clockwise with the occasional reversal adding a randomness that was quite alarming because of its unexpected deviance from the established rhythm.

For the next three days the cleaning station and the resultant polishing was relocated to each tire in turn. The remarkable tenacity and thoroughness of this four day odyssey was not lost on me. Yes, I was aware of the fact that my watching the dance was as inane and as time wasting as the act I observed but I convinced myself that watching the details would somehow lead to an insight. A small one occurred to me and it was that a closer observation of 92128 was warranted.

With this motivation I opened the on-line platform known as NextDoor to further explore the activities of my neighborhood. Immediately the top activities became clear.

1. Bartering had returned with a vengeance. Many offers of flour for yeast and masks for sanitizer were evident. As barter is at the heart of all economies, 92128 showed itself to be a mature civilization where exchange could occur easily and without undue grasping. Einstein was a fan because he was brave enough to state, ‘I think barter is a noble thing. “
2. 92128 is full of noble people.
3. The animal census was boiling along. Coyotes, rabbits, rats and hawks were being counted with an eye to extreme accuracy. Few animal passings went unnoticed.
4. Sourdough bread had made a come back. Pleas for sourdough starter were numerous and baking in general was uniquely popular. ( see above reference to flour and yeast).
5. Sidewalk Chalking was being promoted as a creative outlet.
6. Drinking is increasing in both volume and frequency.

These facts, while clear, did not seem to lead to a comprehensive theory that explained 92128 quirkiness. Added to the increasing number of persons who are walking out on their driveways in their pajamas ( to get the paper ?) these facts only served to deepen one’s confusion. I will gather more evidence from my perch tomorrow and hope to detect a pattern. After all none of us have a hell of a lot to do these days.

Or do we ?