Funny how a quick glimpse of something will take you on a
tangent.
Driving down the street the other day, I noticed granite gravel-covered
alley moving between blocks of houses. I miss alleys. I grew up in a small
California town where residential streets, and commercial ones, for that
matter, were traversed by one-lane paved alley ways… where most garages and
carports lived. Where trash cans waited for pick up day – none of this bringing
your trash out to the front curb… garbage trucks navigated the narrow lanes behind
your house to do their work.
These alleys were not well-maintained – deep divots and
mounds made them uneven for driving – the entire alley was a speed bump… and in
the winter they were fabulous for driving your bike through rain puddles and
creating wakes in your path. On really hot, Central Valley days you could
literally smell the melting asphalt, and make dents in it with your feet.
Alleys were short-cuts to downtown, and great places to stop
and talk with friends… unless your neighbors had an unleashed dog in their back
yard. I climbed a fence one day, winding up in a stranger’s back yard because a
momma dog did not want us passing by her pups. That was scary. I literally did
not know I could move that fast.
Now and then, I will see a television show or a cartoon
where something is happening in the alley. Usually it is about people “up to no
good,” but I think alleys have been given a bad rap. In small town America,
alleys offered a chance to step out of the mainstream and slow down a bit; a
place to meet, or take a shortcut, or just get out of the traffic.
Alleys make me nostalgic for simpler times, gentler worlds, and
fewer big decisions. I definitely do not want granite chips in my alley, like I
saw the other day – old asphalt is far quieter and more inviting. Like I said, funny how a quick glimpse of something
will take you on a tangent, through time and space and it’s all inside your
mind.
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