the good foot
This Friday was a slightly more “structured” day than I’ve had in a while. Like formal, distinct, specific things to do. Starting early was leading a Zoomy thing, kind of doing what I’ve done a few decades now, it falls nicely under the cute euphemism, “You’ve got to give it away to keep it.”
Next up was a very formal, serious, matters-a-bunch, some-while-ago scheduled interview with a representative of the state of California regarding a couple of senior-and-broke-as-a-mongoose potential benefits I may be eligible for, which these days anything helps a lot and so fingers crossed electrically in hopes for the good word coming in another few weeks. Hoping to be hopeful is the interesting place of not wanting to set myself up, what (clearly) with no guarantees these days, and at the same time employing my powers of positive visualization to see the thing happening, to help make it real – not, I’ll believe it when I see it, but, I’ll see it when I believe it. Tightrope time, but the kid pretty much always leans into a keeping the faith, Baby, place. That government chat went on and on.
Lastly, among the “formal” obligations was a meeting with who would have been my ongoing boss had I not decided the gig begun/interviewed for back there in Portland turned out not to be right for me on all kinds of levels, and today (in front of Trader Joe’s on the Boulevard – my choice) there was a matter of me signing something saying I’m outie and have no claims on nothing. I kind of like that.
Also, like always, there’s a long collection of actions and needs and good ideas and inspirations and I gotta’s and keep on keeping on’s, Holmes, in today’s “To Do” list, these three above being more formal and scheduled than most of what’s been happening down here in SoCal since my arrival 13 days ago – amazing – other than an oil change and the interview for the job not to be. And so’s you can continue believing in the kid, I’m planning to keep – as James Brown would say – on “the good foot” all day and later drive over near the ocean and do the walk on the numbered streets I have made my own and become one with and after sit on maybe the Virginia Krick bench high above Moonlight Beach and the Pacific and will myself onto the magical drifts and streams of pelicans and look out to the endless breaking waves and wonder if the state of California will see fit to lend an old guy a helping hand, and think about some of the stuff I said in the Zoom hours before, maybe me doing some helping there, also consider my age-72 job prospects, I’d like to do something which feels like helping the planet and – to be clear – best would be creating new art and publishing new books and sort of be my own boss and break even with money and even maybe take up surfing if I can find some free lessons and some shallow water.
That’d be me on just another good foot.
Barefootin’.
