l'chaim.

on my walk into town i pass a few things...

a yellow house with peeling white shutters, bright yellow wreaths, and granite steps. it is for sale, and in the interest of pasting one of the fliers into my journal for vision's sake, i pulled out one of the ads as i walked home. it has four bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a colonial kitchen, fireplaces, and most of all- the pride of boasting itself as the home of yet another one of rockport's random historical figures. all over town there are signs that say "home of...." in stately, crisp black lettering. i admire the history, but marvel at the irony. although, today i did pass one that explained the historical figure as a player in bunker hill. this was helpful and provoked a bit more respect from me.

i pass street signs that never cease to bring me pleasure. simple ones such as harbor street, tuna wharf, and atlantic ave (i like this mostly because unlike many others, it is quite true) but then there are other signs that make you think "well, naturally" in a slightly ironic tone of thought. my favorite says "way to old boat ramp". it's true, it is.

there are also 3 different weathervanes. one sits atop a very stately yellow home with black shutters. i can't tell, but it looks a bit like a crescent moon. another is a fish, and i can only see it from a distance, and seeing as it is typically always the same time of day when i walk, it is consistently set against the sunset. i like this small fish. it is all things new england in a simple, understated instrument probably no longer referred to. again, my favorite is probably the simple wooden whale off of one of the side streets. it always seems to point east.

and my latest curiosity - one art studio that stays open. it is small with two doors. on the right is best seen the man who owns it, the artist. he is always inside, standing at his easel and painting, even when i walk into town at night. he faces away from the door and he is small and round and looks a bit like pavarotti. he is always wearing a beret and rather brightly colored clothes, today was a layering of hot pink and lime green- somewhat like his whimsical paintings, although these are a bit more tame. the canvas he was working on yesterday was different than today's- and i wonder what has happened...