Tag Archives: walking

art ‘n soul

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 i never cease to be amazed, when walking around my city, by the surprising displays of art i encounter. they can be found in places of all kinds, and in every form imaginable.  i’m always struck by the time and care that people have taken to express themselves, to share their creative spirits, and to put their visions out there, to be met with a smile or scorn, making our space somehow the better for it, and to open random strangers’ minds and eyes to new experiences. these beauties and the people who create them, from the simple to the sublime, all for the sake of self-expression and the joy of knowing others may cross paths with them , are treasures, each in their own distinct way. 

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a rabbit peeks out from a front yard filled with vine and picket fence

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a wall covered in gum, once painted over, and coming to life once again with new color,

ever-evolving with the contributions of passers-by

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a sidewalk, redrawn with chalk each day, into a new design, by a mother, purely for the delight of others

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a pink balloon, placed by a child, to make her tree more beautiful, in hope the fairies will come

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a mural on an underpass, painted by a teen who i have known to be a gifted artist since he was in pre-school

and has no idea how talented he really is

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a dead tree stump given a second chance at beauty with the addition of color and life

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  poetry painted on an alley ceiling  – look to the stars for inspiration

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The critic has to educate the public; the artist has to educate the critic.  Oscar Wilde

An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist says a hard thing in a simple way.  Charles Bukowski

 

real buildings half curves

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      i love this building, stuck right in the heart of our bustling and modern downtown. each and every time i walk by, i am drawn in once again, as i encounter its beauty, and especially its ‘and a half’ address. each time, i feel as mesmerized by it as i felt the first time i ever laid eyes on it. 

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     a historic house known as ‘the shant’, (officially called “the hall of omicron”), it now serves as a meeting place for the university of michigan chapter of the delta kappa epsilon (DKE) fraternity, as well as the headquarters for the international fraternal organization and the gerald ford library.  

     architect william lebaron jenney, later known as the ‘father of the american skyscraper,’ designed the building. jenney came to ann arbor as a professor to found the architecture program at the university of michigan. the library is named after gerald ford, one of five presidents who were members of DKE. it houses books that were written by or about DKE brothers as well as memorabilia.

     according to A Century and a Half of DKE, a history of the fraternity, (founded in 1855, 10 years after the first frats came to the university of michigan), the building was used only for fraternity ritual in its early years. the cornerstone was laid in 1878 and construction was completed the following year. an exterior eight-foot high brick wall was added in 1901, increasing the building’s mysterious appearance. it was used only for late night meetings, the gas-lit interior enhancing the building’s eeriness. today, the building still sticks out as somewhat eerie, especially in comparison with its new surroundings. 

     i like to imagine the secret late-night meetings, the rituals, the ghosts of times past, that still inhabit this special ‘half’ place, caught somewhere in between the past and the present.  

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 ‘my address is like my shoes. it travels with me.’ –  mary harris jones

balls out

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     day after day, i see him sitting on his front porch, hours at a time, as i walk downtown and back. always perched between the 2 white lions, and looking over his little kingdom – a perfect, green lawn, mowed just so, with soldier-straight rows of plants and flowers – everything manicured and dead-headed and edged and aligned and watered and fertilized. he wears a polo shirt, 3 buttons done up, always the color of a sherbet, neatly tucked into his crisply-ironed and belted shorts, and on his feet are spotless white socks and shoes. i see his sign, carefully hand-printed – ‘3 golf balls for 1 dollar.’  

     he always nods and smiles as i walk by, a silent sentinel. one day, i walk up to meet him, to buy something, to ask him his story. he slowly approaches me, a bit shy, and tells me i can search the basket to find the ‘best ones’ and then just come back to the porch to tell him how many i have and he will trust me. 

     as i go up to the porch to pay him, i notice his mustache is as perfectly trimmed as his lawn. he’s an older man who carries a quiet and gentle pride about him. there is one leaf on his perfect lawn, showing his humanity.  he smiles with his eyes as he tells me he’s done this for a few years, won’t reveal how he gets the golf balls, or anything else about his interesting business, only that it’s his hobby. he lets me take a picture but doesn’t want me to use his name or his face.

     i can see it’s his simple joy, and more important than any money he makes, it’s his way of keeping in touch with the world.  he values the conversations he has with people who stop by throughout the day. he has lived a full life and now is enjoying sitting quietly between the lions and watching the world unfold before his eyes. 

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It’s good sportsmanship to not pick up lost golf balls while they are still rolling. 

Mark Twain

 

torn

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I guess when you turn off the main road, you have to be prepared to see some funny houses. – Stephen King

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Sometimes the road less traveled is less traveled for a reason. – Jerry Seinfeld

 

lucky seven

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 home at last, and walking downtown, i passed one of our most interesting stores.

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the name really speaks for itself.

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The seven deadly sins, also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins, is a classification of vices that has been used since early Christian times to educate and instruct them concerning fallen humanity’s tendency to sin. In the currently recognized version, the sins are usually given as wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony.

 now –  if they just added in a taco bell all-you-can-eat bar, with super-sized slushy drinks, comfy sofas with cup-holders, remotes and unlimited trashy tv, mirrors, free spa services, and marriage arbitration, i think you could partake in all of the deadly sins under one roof. kind of like a 7 deadly sins strip mall or theme park. one-stop shopping. i can only imagine the ads. 

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There is no sin except stupidity.

Oscar Wilde

Walking in a winter wonderland

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while walking barefoot along the back beach this morning, I was amused to discover that Australian kids are also willing to brave the winter elements to experience the joys of sledding.

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Luckily there was a roaring fire and hot cocoa waiting.

some things are universal.