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stanky places

i just got back from the stankiest place i have ever been.

part of the end of summer for ruckus is clean-up – all the crap in the office was gathered into the front of the office, and then i and operations diva megan had to dispose of it. naina showed up this morning fresh faced from her campaigning for aimee allison for district 2 city council, and made off with a car full of office supplies.

a berkeley high teacher took a fax machine and a vcr.

but the kicker of the day was that megan and i drove truckus, the little red ruckus truck that just barely could, to the waste management center – acres and acres of waste in the sun. story high piles of styrofoam, logs, garbage. the smells – i have only been that overcome by the smell of place twice before – after 9-11 in a brooklyn backyard where the scent was coming over the water, and in new orleans. the ground was covered in sludge which is still on the bottom of my new pumas (that’s what i get for only buying new sneakers every 3 years). i can’t even name the things that were rotting there.

i won’t feel clean for a while. the air felt toxic, and both megan and i were just slack jawed at the reality, which we talk about often but rarely encounter, that we humans create so much waste, bring so much destructive nasty wasteful crap into being without thinking of how it will be disposed of. in a word it was depressing.

i don’t want to leave you on a funky note for the weekend though…so…i wrote this last night after a bus ride:

tonight a family got on the bus. I noticed them first because the homeless smell
penetrated my ipod daze. I looked up and there they were, two kids, 4
and 8 if I had to guess, then the mother with a baby in a stroller, then
another child, 5 ish, then the dad with another kid in the stroller. the
kids clothes didn’t fit, and were somewhat soiled. the parents sat on opposite sides
of the front aisle with the strollers, and proceeded to continue a conversation that
started before they boarded, while simultaneously dialoguing with the
children. each child was a unique combination of the mother’s delicate
face with the fathers big sparkling eyes and confident smile. beautiful, among the most beautiful children i have ever seen. the older kids were quick with retorts and jokes. the entire family dynamic, the feeling of belonging and comfort and intellect and rhythm in how they all interacted was so inviting. i started playing face-off with the kids and it was the best bus ride ever. i really hope when it’s time i am able to start a family with such blessed energy and abundance as those 7 had.

and stay posted – i may have something interesting to report after this weekend 😉 first though, i must wash!