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.