Surprise Joy - Lunar Obverse

When you start looking for something, you start to find it more and more. Or maybe you just notice it more. I’ve been trying to find a little joy in my life. Just starting out I didn’t find much, but it’s starting to show up more and more.

Portland has been having a heat wave for the past week or more, with temperatures in the high 90s and even reaching 100 a couple of days. Since Portland is not built with high heat in mind, unlike say Phoenix, so folks are generally miserable unless they’ve been able to spend the money to upgrade. I’ve got a single window air conditioner unit that I install when the temperature goes up, and it works OK.

The office I work in has decent air conditioning so my work day is covered. I tend to buy lunch so I have to leave to get food, but there are plenty of close places for foods. My car, my old slowly-falling-apart mid-90s Honda, used to have working air conditioning but sometime before this summer it stopped blowing cold air, so my commute home has been sweaty.

Driving in the heat does not spark joy, not for me. I’m not a fan of driving in traffic, and being uncomfortably hot increases the stress and anxiety. With the windows down, the noise makes it hard to hear music; music would help, surely.

So there I was, last week, driving home in the hot, hot, heat. This was before my recent confidence boost, so I was anxious and full of self-doubt, trying to talk myself into accepting that this was a good job, that I did fit in, that I could do this. Will I fit in here? I stopped at a Plaid Pantry to pick up some Mexican Coke and a lottery ticket, because a) my dad and I love Mexican Coke, and b) can’t win if you don’t play, right?

Picture, somewhat faded from being taken facing the sun, of a stair and sidewalk that leads between two rows of townhouses. On the sidewalk, in the middle distance, is a five foot tall inflatable orange dinosaur. — This little spot of color made my evening.

I pulled in to my parking lot. I drove toward my reserved parking spot. And sitting on the sidewalk between the townhouses was a splash of bright orange: a 5′ tall inflatable orange dinosaur. A delightful and unexpected sight, putting a smile on my face. Where did this dinosaur come from and why is it here?

On closer inspection, the dinosaur had a hose fitting near its foot, and its mouth had a sprinkler outlet. One of my neighbors had bought this and had been using it (or planned to use it) to keep cool from the heat. I’ve seen the neighbor kids playing with the hose, or water balloons; this was just another sun mitigation tactic. A silly and fun mitigation.

I got a selfie with the dinosaur, because of course I did. Looking at the picture now, I don’t look very happy. I’m good at masking, turns out. I blame the hot, hot, heat for my blank expression, but, reader, inside my heart sang. I was so happy to have this surprise dinosaur outside my apartment, you have no idea.

Selfie of the author, a middle-aged white man wearing glasses, an Adidas baseball cap, and a green plaid shirt, standing in front of an orange inflatable dinosaur. Apartment windows and doors are in the background. — I may not look happy but believe me, I was.

A sign from the universe that says “you never know when something silly will drop in to your life, Brian” which is the kindest sign I could have received. Thank you, universe.