the curly-haired kids with the soap-bubble smiles shout Happy Mother's Day from their secret mattress leaned against a trash can world. thanks, i smile. and then, man-on-the-side-of-the-highway-collecting-trash orange flowers insistently downwarddogging their blooms toward the sky, pressing up and fluttering.

Berkeley Bike

the drops of rain were spaced out and pattered on my face as i walked down the street with the rainbow of flowers. houses nestled among the greenness and the concrete. the man in a lilac pinstriped suit with matching shiny purple loafers and a black felt cap put some stuff in his sedan. the mini brown boy with the close cropped hair protected me from his dog with the smiling tail. i looked away as a squirrel ran out to meet a moving car. then the both disappeared. the wide smiling young man with the funny square blond beard and rolled up jeans cycled past as i looked for a gap in the traffic. he was smiling at me. the black man breaking apart a tree trunk section with a wedge and a mallet. "hi" i said timidly. "how you doin?" he answered and kept chopping.

My co-worker is outraged that the free summer concerts here will no longer allow BYOB and are going to start selling and regulating alcohol. He's threatening to petition and write letters to the town council.