23 February 2007, Thursday. Rain horizon--sky aglow with gray light. Soupy downpour just after seven--watery ricochets in curbside puddles, then a breather... Orange-red pickup with gleaming break light, 7-eleven lot. Another, a duller red, with dark windows, pulled in at an angle nearby. Ryan's understated delight with highways in LA--endless cars, each with a contemporary personality--waiting to be painted. The Pakistani man in convenience store--he has a cold. Night shift. World of mosques and teeming marketplaces--barley, hemp, millet...seeds and grains. Baskets of folded paper--cardamom, cayenne--saffron in tiny bags. A neat pile of eggs in clay bowl, one by one--raisins and figs. Narrow glass of tea, heavy with sweet, but always clear. Two men, squatting on their haunches, Urdu companions, shooting the breeze. Ancient bicycle reappears--Javed's back from the hadj--heading out after long night...
Rain again now, steady. Man opening umbrella--a touch awkward--under far awning...
No comments:
Post a Comment