Creature of the Shade

still alive, eh?

When I bought a house in Portland, seven years ago, he came with the house.  "Evander," the previous owners had called him, after the boxer Evander Holyfield -- which dates him already.   Evander ruled his neighborhood with a twitch of his well-shredded ears.  He was surer of his authority than any cat I've ever met.  He didn't bluster, as my younger cat often does.  He didn't actually fight much; he didn't seem to need to.  And when he decided he wanted into the house, I let him in. 

A neighbor there remembered him being around in the early 1980s, which would make him well over 20 now.  He's moved with me twice, and each time, he's given up more control, retreated to a smaller circle of concern. 

In this last, most wrenching move, from San Francisco to Vancouver, he stayed calm, the master of his pet-carrier, while my younger cat went catatonic with terror.  Today, Evander cares what happens within a radius of barely a foot.  But there, don't mess with him.

Happy catblogging Friday, Evander.  Thanks for sticking with me.

forth, back

Tonight, all the streets of Vancouver's dense West End are closed.  Earlier tonight, 100,000 people walked across the area, from east to west, from the downtown transit stations to the manicured shore of English Bay.  Two hours later, they all walked back.

As someone with a deep fear of crowds, I can recommend this meditation: 

If you find yourself in a large flowing crowd, and you reach a spot where it's safe to stop, then stop and turn your body 90 degrees.  Look back.  You'll look like you're waiting for somebody to catch up, so nobody will think this is odd.   

Let faces flow across your field of attention.  Focus on each face just for a moment, then let it go.  This is much the way we look at oncoming faces on the street, but do it without the fear, and with no intention but to perceive what that face has to offer.

Resist the temptation to facilitate.  Wherever you stand, families will come at you four abreast and you'll feel like you're in their way.  Don't ... just be a tree ... they'll go around you.

Anyway, that's what I did tonight.  And the fireworks were great, too.