Divide and dissolve

So here I was in Bellingham for one of my week-end visits, made more frequent of late by the combination of a long-distance relationship and cheap airfare. The week-end had passed well and it was Monday, my day of departure. Getting back to the airport was going to be a bit iffy, though, as Michele was back down in Seattle working away and my mom was doing same here in the 'ham. But don't worry - I'd got things all figured out. My sister and Woodley also happened to be up for the week-end; they had driven up the coast, and so would be able to drop me off at the Food Co-Op, whence my plan was to meet Brian Russell at The Home and visit a bit before being driven to the airport. Simple enough.

I departed as planned from Liz and Woodley at the Food Co-Op. I began walking up the street towards The Home, but was arrested in that purpose next to the WECU by one Monica Simmons, a friend from back in high school whom I haven't seen in simply ages. We fell to chit-chat, and before I knew it a passing postal worker was calling my name. It just so happened that I had paused in the very route of BJ, a pal from my post-college Bible study. After a brief exchange of hails he was back to work, but a moment or two later, yes, a tap on the shoulder, and the one and only Evan Day, a family friend and fellow Flying Colorist, was standing before me. That makes five - Liz, Woodley, Monica, BJ, and Evan - in as many minutes. Adding in the fact that after a bit more chit-chat I would return from this serendipitous street corner to my original plan of meeting Brian Russell, I figure that I've set a new P.R. for happening across friends from all the different walks and times of my life.

I feel that, over time, this blog is becoming a trifle Bellingham-heavy, and I have a vague feeling that this trend should be avoided. It's not truly representative of my life these days -- I certainly don't spend hours each day pining away for the motherland -- nor is it all that interesting subject matter, for who really wants to hear me lament my elsewhereness? Nevertheless, the High Street Coincidence has somewhat renewed my desire to find a way home again, since where else than Bellingham do things like that occur?

Where else indeed. As soon as I landed I was given a ride back from the Oakland Airport by Jeff Widman.


Music of the moment:

Waterdeep's recent album, Pink And Blue, manages a thing that few albums can in that it is both a bit of a disappointment and it is one of my most listened-to albums week after week. How do these two facts coexist? Well, the truth (by which I mean my opinion) is that Waterdeep write excellent songs, even when the complex arrangements and virtuosic fretcraft of yore are replaced with a misguided candy-coating of DIY production tricks. What I'm trying to say is: buy this album, but buy Sink or Swim and To Chase Away The Birds first.

In other news, I've been listening to Tower Of Power's older stuff quite a bit recently. Urban Renewal and Back to Oakland are both smokin' soul-funk. If you've never heard them before, these albums are highly recommended. Cue the Pandora.