S-A-TUR-DAY... DAY!
I have always loved the word boulevard. Perhaps that's the reason I chose french as my second-language to study in junior high. East Capitol Boulevard... Now there's a beautiful name, and, most likely not a blvd that Dr. Dre, Green Day, or even Jackson Browne would be angsting about.
As I start off, I elect to park my car next to a home bearing a competitor's sign for Salt Lake City District 3 City Council. Sets the tone for the day at hand: Trench time.
Walking up ECB, I am struck by the uniqueness of the yards: Several of them have whole clusters of trees in the front yards. The look and feel reminds me of the method I have heard that the LDS Church's chief landscape architect used to create the truly stunning rooftop garden downtown: Taking handfuls of seeds and throwing them over his shoulder with as much wild abandon as can be mustered, given the circumstance.
The look is not overly manicured, but natural, inviting. Calls to mind the TreeUtah-sponsored class in designing edible forests that I attended a few months ago. Although, for the most part, I did not observe too many fruit-bearing trees on ECB. [A few days ago, though, a bit lower on ECB, I visited a house where a child-scrawled sign requested (and I ad lib, here): "Please do not eat our peaches! These have been a lot of hard work!"]
The people I spoke with yesterday were very friendly. Aaron was a standout, spending several minutes with me on his front porch, talking about the efficacy of solar panels and wind farms and the tougher how-to's of enacting change. Sharing with me that he works for the University of Utah in the Math Department, Aaron's xeric yard was the tip of the iceberg of a very eco-passionate individual.
We concluded. I planted a sign in his inspired yard, then walked away, realizing that I had not spoken with him about his participating on our GREEN City task force; so I jotted a note to do so. Later, much later, back at home, I searched for his e-mail at the U and found that he not only works for the U Math Department, but is the chair of such... Affable and humble, both...
Same pleasing duality with Andrew on Sandrun Road. On board with "green" as a concept but concered about costs, Andrew had just concluded a bike ride up Millcreek Canyon. He hung out a bit and talked about his home under construction, and I promoted green-building techniques. (I general-contracted the rebuild of my home in 2005.) As I was leaving, Andrew made a point of saying he intended to "spread the word" about me as a candidate, then offered some water and even some Pepsi. I passed on the Pepsi, telling him I am still working on shaving down and then in to a lime green dress from 20 years ago at an appropriate stage of the campaign. Andrew, 100% fit, approved of this idea, shared the water, and sent me on my way, still lingering in his yard, playing with his two young children.
On Sandrun I also spoke with Chris, who owns multiple apartment buildings in addition to his East Capitol home. Chris mentions that even though he believes in Mayor Becker's concept with the updated Safety Complex that he will probably vote against it. Taxes are his nemesis.
Ended up taking a trip down memory lane at the corner of Sandrun and ECB, where I encountered long-lost contact Jerry. He and I were both in a community theater production of The Music Man probably 20-some years ago! In those days, I lived in the Kensington Apartments on Main Street, and he lived who knows where. It was nice to visit, and, yes, pump him for voting commitment, as well as admire his very lush yard.
It was lunch time, not by the clock, but by my gut. I decided to swoop in for the last few minutes of the Salt Lake Downtown Farmers Market.
Krista and Hyrum of The Salt Lake Bike Collective were just packing up, which made me pick up my wearied pace a bit. Hurry up and wait ensued, as I ran into Turtle, a woman who used to attend my Yoga classes at the JCC. We had not seen each other in years, and it was interesting to hear of her recent time spent in Australia, where she reported that bicycles outsell cars and non-eco consumers pay $3 per-bag for plastic at the grocery store.
$3 per bag... I guess that gets the point across, I thought, as I walked the market.
Bumped into a "seed seller" whom I, Jack-In-The-Beanstalk-like, had shoveled over a ton of money for sego lilly bulbs, which, to my extreme sorrow, had never bloomed. They were to be my front-and-center showpiece, but not to be...
I chatted with Jorge Fierro (a.k.a. "Rico," as in Rico's Market Rico). Jorge and Jennifer J. Johnson or "JJJ" were honored with "Giant Step" awards acknowledging business success in 2002 by the Salt Lake City Chamber of Commerce. It was great fun to quickly cut to the chase and generate ideas on the fly with this entrepreneurial colleague. I talked zoning with him, and look forward to a near-term follow-up, as his insights are powerful ones for our area in The Avenues, Capitol Hill, Federal Heights, Guadalupe, and Marmalade.
"It's only time on the boulevard..."
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