Malibu morning picture of the day - Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Dear Family, Friends, and Gentle Readers,

Happy Wednesday to you all. I know it's April Fool's Day but I'm not good at practical jokes, so I'll only just give it passing reference here. Here's the picture for the day:

We've got a morning with a bit more blue in it today. The clouds on the left make me think of Dr Seuss book characters floating through from the dawn into the darker sky for some reason.

And here's a little more blue off to the south (right).

This pic almost makes me think of a Degas painting.

There's a line in Disney's Aladdin that I was reminded greatly of today, uttered by the Genie of the Lamp: "Wake up and smell the homeless!"-- his small admonition into the precariousness of one's good fortune and security.

I thought I was lucky this morning by catching an early bus and looking like there were lots of empty seats, but there were no less than nine apparently homeless folk inside, each occupying a full bench, deep in REM slumber, so far as I can tell, enjoying the uninterrupted 45-60 minutes of rest, unmolested by cops or street thugs. (In case you don't know, living on the street can be very dangerous.) As you might imagine, the concentration of the group of them in an enclosed space was MOST stimulating.

The mobile flophouse.

As the bus filled up, nobody prompted any of those folks to move over or move their things so that they could sit down. I suppose this may be the only perk to not bathing. You see one rider who has pulled her shirt over her nose. Practically everyone on the bus was breathing through their clothes or hankies.

There is a character in the book that I am presenting to you all on weekends who I allude to as smelling rank, a woman who does not bathe for skin sensitivity reasons. People like these fellow souls who ride the bus with me are something of an inspiration to me in crafting my protagonist's repulsion and  hostile stance toward her. He softens up to her somewhat. As their aromas may be something of an inconvenience to someone like me who has ready access to a bathroom and even shower facilities at work, I wish them their comfort and peace for at least that hour. I did get a seat, which my weak knees rejoiced in. So I considered myself extremely lucky this morning.

Wishing you all similar luck on your Wednesday.

Love,
Pops