I was greeted by a message on the sidewalk. As it turns out, sidewalks talked to me all day to the point that I was talking back. "This could be a black hole," it said, pointing out the fact that there was a hole in the cement. I didn't respond. I was slightly taken aback by this statement. This COULD be a black hole, and what then? What should I do? This said black maybe hole was in front of my house and might suck me inside out during the night. I walked on. It wasn't until later when I was walking from school to Temple Square along the Avenues that the conversation really took off. More on that in just a second.
As it turns out, my school is really far away from downtown, and it was an awesome walk. There's a lot to see on South Temple and I definitely want to spend a day touring things like the Governor's Mansion and the Masonic Temple. I found an apartment called 'The Franciscan' and grinned upon observing that it was a rather brown building. I wonder if anyone else sees that as appropriate? I found steps leading up to a patch of grass where I assume a house once stood. I also noted that one house was advertising for 'tentnants', and I laughed in spite of myself.
But as I was saying, the sidewalk and I had a conversation. It started when I crossed South Temple and skipped over to the west side of Q Street. "QueST," the sidewalk said, "an epic journey; a plot device." I ignored this as well, but the sidewalk persisted. "PeST, an undesired presence. OuST, a river in Brittany..." It was here that the messages stopped and I was forced to finish them myself:
NeST: the residence of a bird or perhaps a gorilla.
MyST: a horribly confusing game from the 90s that distracted my dad for hours.
LoST: where I may end up today.
KoST: a more Greek way of saying 'cost'.
JeST: kidding!
IST: cheating in German because I'd otherwise be stumped.
HaSTy: hobbits are too...
GiST: more or less the bulk of everything I'm telling you.
FiST: in your face.
EuSTon: Tube station in London.
DuST: the tiny particles in His Dark Materials that are really angels... or something. I should reread those books.
CuSTard: my grandpa once made a custard and brought it for dessert and I didn't like it because it was too eggy. I feel really bad for not liking it because I really miss my grandpas.
BuST: I've finally got one for my front room. In fact I have two, and they happen to be Apollo and Diana. This must be fate.
AuguSTus: let's be honest, of course I'm going to see "A ST" and associate it with the Caesar of caesars because everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, relates back to the Graeco-Romans.
By the end of the Avenues, I was done with my game and cheerfully strolling towards Temple Square. The flowers are gorgeous this time of year, and I was not disappointed. I chose a spot on the wall where my feet wouldn't touch the ground. What I don't like about being tall is having my feet always touching the ground whenever I sit on a bench. More than many things I just want to be able to swing my legs back and forth childishly. I sat and pondered the meaning of family in the Church and how it relates to my life. I noticed two families taking pictures on the grounds after their weddings, and my heart sunk a bit. I probably won't ever marry, but if I did I would have no family there. I have family. It's not as though they aren't there, but relations aren't ideal, and the last thing I would want at an occasion like my own wedding would be contention. My mother has already expressed that she would not be caught dead at an event at which my grandmother was present, and that includes my wedding. At this point in time anyway I feel so unattached from my kin that I don't think I plan on telling anyone whether or not I do marry.
It didn't take long for a pair of sister missionaries to approach me. We talked for awhile about this and that. It was a nice conversation. I brought up mythology and how it relates to Mormon doctrine and I probably sounded crazy. Okay. Then I was reminded that I needed to buy a May Ensign for the conference talks, but they didn't have any at Deseret Book. Drat. So off I jolly went to take the train to Ogden.
I really like trains. No kidding. I LOVE trains. I don't know that I'll ever take a plane again unless it's absolutely necessary. I don't get to go north all that often, but today felt like a good day to do so, and I've always wanted to take Front Runner, though I can't imagine any reason to ever go north of Salt Lake. All it is is more shopping and residences, right? I mean... Lagoon? Really?
Right now they're still snow capped, and they even more impressive in Ogden. They seem to bolt up from the valley; their walls reminded me of a recurring dream I have of travelling up a glacier encrusted mountain pass to a hidden valley high above the atmosphere. There's a river and a village with elves living there. I'll find it one day.
I got to Ogden and walked around a bit before my legs gave out and demanded an extended rest or they would kill me. I can't really imagine how, but that's what they threatened. I turned around and walked back to the train station. It took me passed backyards full of junk. We have too much stuff. We let it pile up and then dump it, and guess what? It still sits there. I can't believe it. But what was even more astounding than the junk in people's yards were the number of houses. I mean, we have billions of people on this planet, and we keep building houses for them. Entire neighborhoods pop up from nowhere, and we can build cities in decades rather than centuries. The Romans had quality, but they have nothing on our efficiency. We are bloody brilliant at industry, and while I might prefer quality I can't help but admire the genius behind efficiency. Humans are amazing.
Days off are the best.
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