Beautiful weather here in Portlandia, the grass remains green and there continues to be heat in that there sun. Without the heat and light of the sun, we’d be up shit creek. I wonder if anyone has thought about the sun suddenly giving up the ghost.

Today I felt like I was on another planet. I can now make a comparison to The Little Prince, a book in which the central character does an intergalactic journey, and on the way he experiences the novelty of being elsewhere. I actually might be on another planet. There is no way of telling. Could have been an instance of time transport. Happened on the plane, when I dozed off.

El walking

I was most fortunate on this warm and sunny day to participate in my sister’s self-designed KEMP program. I now think she’s really on to something. Hearing about something like this is one thing, actually experiencing it is quite another. We first walked to a bus stop (mass transit is integral to the KEMP program) and the bus came immediately, meaning there was no waiting. Had I had to wait, I might have done as my mother used to do when she waited for a bus, and pulled a package of Kent cigarettes out of my purse. Her rationalization was that as soon as she lit up, a bus would appear. Half the time she was right.

We took the bus downtown, got off, and walked a few blocks to Portland Art Museum. We then checked out the Mt St. Helens volcano eruption exhibit, which took place in 1980. This alone astonished me – 1980, that was the year I bicycled cross country. And I thought I was old then . . .

The exhibit was well thought out and full of variety. Amazing, that so many artists then decided that their life’s work should center around what happened on that fateful April day. There was a wall-sized black and white photo facing the exhibit entrance – the size of the photo brought to mind the immensity of the explosion. And I most liked two paintings by a fellow who chose to paint the view from his upper porch because it reminded me of when Portland was a small town.

El and I checked out other exhibits, but the Mt. St. Helens one was the best. El and I then exited the museum, went across the street, and purchased deli lunches, which we ate outside. As I people watched I thought, this wasn’t something I could do at home – it would be too cold.

We proceeded over the Hawthorne Street Bridge (my favorite) and caught the bus back to her place, stopping at an art stop to browse and pick up some supplies. Ate dinner with El’s friend Jerry who is now working on a book about a former townsite called Bayocean – it was washed away into the ocean. Oregon State University Press is quite interested in this book. Oregon Public Broadcasting just came out with a documentary on the subject, so his publication prospects look good.

Tomorrow I will again participate in the KEMP Program. El and I are going to spend a few days at the beach.

Next: 57. 2/27/20: The Lone Chigger