Lonely Chihuahua

What I saw on my way to work today

While stopped at a red light on 10^th Street in downtown San Jose, I peered down a drive way and saw a very small Chihuahua standing on the trunk of a car. He was firmly perched so he could look over the fence and across the street.  He was black and tan and his gaze was fixed on the other side.  I followed his eyes and saw another Chihuahua staring right back. I wondered if those two ever got a chance to play or was staring across three lanes of asphalt the closest they got to being a pack.

What I saw on my way to work today - Overgrown dust bunny

I am fortunate enough that I am on the freeway a short distance for my commute. This morning at the on-ramp at 1st Street and Highway 101, traveling at a stop and slow pace, I noticed an enormous dust bunny on the side of the road. As large as my car, it was actuality it was a rolled up piece of carpet which has split and exploded with tufts of material. It looked like the dust bunnies you sweep out from under the bed but gigantic.

What I saw on my way to work today – blue and orange jacket

I often drive through an industrial portion of town. It is gray, blacked out windows and concrete. Striding down the street was a bedraggled guy, wildly swinging his arms. He was wearing a brightly colored orange and blue ski jacket. His beard was long and gray. His pants were faded jeans but this jacket shown like a star of optimism against the landscape.

What I saw on my way to work today - Sherbet green chimney

It is overcast and rainy in San Jose today. As I traveled at 32 miles per hour down 10th Street, a bright green chimney caught my eye. Someone has painted their home sherbet green and the matching chimney was a vibrant splash of color in contrast to the grey sky.

What I saw on my way to work today - Smashed iPhone

On the on ramp at Highway 101, I was driving slowly up the ramp because the meter lights where doing their job. I looked down on the road to the left of my car and saw a smashed, totally obliterated piece of electronic junk that used to be an iPhone.

I longingly looked at my own iPhone and realized that if that electronic junk was truly someone’s iPhone that they are in mourning, and also visiting the Apple store fairly soon.

Hope they had their data backed up.

Then I wondered how did this phone get on the side of the road? Left on the roof of a car by accident, thrown out the window in fury, or simple oops.

What I saw on my way to work today - Mysterious envelope

I saw a young woman furtively running toward the mail box of an apartment complex on 10th street in San Jose. She had a sealed envelope and kept looking around as if trying to avoid being seen. She sprinted to the mail box, dropped the envelope in the box and ran to her car, which was parked around the corner. Off she went.
Wonder what was in that envelope? Clandestine pictures, divorce papers, hate mail, love note, hmm. Well we will never know.

What I saw on my way to work today - Mummy on the side of the road

As I drove on the freeway ramp at Highway 101 and First Street in San Jose today, I saw a mummy wrapped in canvas, sitting on a folding chair off the side of the road. The mummy was under a Eucalyptus tree, snuggled tight against the tree trunk and the freeway cyclone fence. Then I realized that this was a sleeping man, protecting himself from the cold and the site was a meager homeless camp.