Much has been made over the past year about angry confrontations between motorists and bicyclists, as some folks try to cast it as a war for street rights. That's making a mountain out of a molehill... but most mountain-caliber political issues began as festering molehills, so it's worth taking a look at the issue.
If you drive, or ride, you ought to read this article and become familiar with the various issues at stake. Please weigh in on the side of sanity and courtesy, when you drive, when you ride, and when you write. Most of us do the first; I hope more of us will do the second; and many of us must also do the third if we want to keep this issue a mere molehill.
...or, if this grows mountainous, that the mountain eventually defends the right of cyclists to the road, even as it educates everyone as to what those rights... and responsibilities... are.
Can you ride a bike? How about a unicycle (all you Mudders out there)? Ever tried doing a trackstand-- balancing on a bicycle while at a standstill? Granted, that's a lot easier to do when you have a "fixie", a bicycle with a fixed rear axle that lets you pedal both forwards and backwards, but means you have no gears and no freewheel (no ability to coast while holding the pedals still).
Once you have mastered a trackstand, try it on a trampoline.
While jumping.
These guys have waaay too much practice:
I am in awe. Awe.
Kudos to Car Free Days and Bike Commuters for posting this video, and to the performers for giving me another reason for deepest humility as I behold, and enjoy, their mastery.
It is great to hear Dean say so eloquently what I have been trying to say in clumsy fits and starts for 15 years. Many years ago I grew my beard out to biblical proportions (actually aiming for a ZZTop look) and spend significant time with a variety of homeless folks, trying to rescue them from addiction and, well, homelessness. It was soon obvious to me that a dearth of relationships-- and an inability to form or maintain close relationships, for varied reasons-- is the root of every chronically homeless person's plight.
Since then I have contrasted this with the obvious un-homelessness of several people who, by fate or by design, were without a place to stay for significant lengths of time.
One fellow suffered from cerebral palsy and hydrocephaly, but he had so many friends that he managed to "couch-surf" for more than a year before a UCP apartment opened up for him. And this despite his hosts (including us) having to help him dress and undress and even help him in the shower. Because he had friendships strong enough to share those burdens gladly, and many enough to spread the burden between us all so none of us got "burned out" caring for him.
In contrast, another fellow "went homeless" for one calendar year in order to better understand and empathize with those living that lifestyle. He found it very difficult to do so in an authentic way because his friends kept checking on him and helping him out! At last he had to cut himself off for several months and intentionally "go missing" in order to feel "homeless" in any real way, despite living under an overpass for weeks and eating out of dumpsters. This from a person TRYING to "be homeless"-- he knew, and his genuinely homeless acquaintances knew, that it wasn't real until those close healthy relationships were severed (at least temporarily and artificially).
Makes me wonder how many well-housed, well-insured, well-fed, fully-employed people feel "homeless" in the deepest sense: living without really belonging, without a band-of-brothers or any tribe to claim them as its own...
Yes, you heard it here first: the Nelson home has hot water, as of 11:40am today!
It took a Dream Team of professionals to connect the dots and shoot the troubles, but in just a couple of hours, we went from "you're kidding me" disaster discovery, to "you're good to go" final recovery.
The Team (never before assembled in one boiler closet until today): Danny Castro, the ElectroMan-- electrician who wired the house and the boiler himself Seth Spangle, the RadiantMan-- contractor who assembled and installed the whole radiant-floor and domestic hot water system (but left the wiring to Danny) Mac, intrepid engineer with Howard Industries and manufacturer's rep for the boiler itself.
Wish I had been there to take photos and hand out chocolates, but I left for an appointment with an author soon after Mac had arrived this morning. More on that later.
The important thing is that now, after five weeks and three days of living in our new home sans hot water (and sans gas for much of the time, too), we really feel like the house is DONE. Now we can do laundry here. We can use the dishwasher. We can put away the crock pots that have provided hot water in every bathroom. We can take showers!
I cannot tell you what a relief this is. A huge weight off our shoulders. Just three days before my mom comes to stay with us for the weekend, too! Yaay.
(Next big challenge: unpacking and organizing all our books! woohoo...
March 29-31, Kathryn's dad & aunt helped us empty out the storage space that held our books and wall art (photos, paintings, posters), Christmas decor and all the kids' stuff that didn't fit into our small apartment. It felt great to close out that storage space and not have to pay rent for it the first of April.
Now, with the help of Reggie and Sheldon of Starving Students Moving Co., we have emptied out the storage space that held all the furniture we salvaged from 29th Street (plus chairs from my parents). Those guys were great-- friendly, efficient, and very strong:
"Um, do you want me to remove the drawers from that file cabinet for you?" "Nah, I'm good." Sheldon hoists it into a hug and starts marching. "Those drawers are stuffed full." "Yeah, I can tell!" Sheldon trots up the stairs as if the cabinet is empty.
(...You go try to pick up a full file cabinet. Or a decent-sized empty one, for that matter...)
Because of them, today's impressive moving-in progress was actually fun. We even invited them to dinner but they had to get the truck back to the lot, etc. Maybe we'll see them at the housewarming in May.
I sure hope so, because in all the excitement and busyness, I completely forgot to take photos! By the time I remembered, it was just me and Kathryn and the ubiquitous Dorothy Steventon. She took this photo of us, all sweaty and grubby, with a happy huddle of furniture behind us: [insert photo soon!]
Next major steps: getting our gas meter installed and gas service turned on, and the Big Moving Day coming up, April 19th.
Not to mention completing a slew of draft posts that cover the past several months of the life of this nascent urban home...
Lifetime
