ah balamer

riding the light rail up howard street just passing the armory, i see a bullet ridden range rover on a wrecker turn up park avenue.

signs that i have crossed the mason dixon line

while it seems that i am reluctant to enter the 21st century at times, for the most part i cannot see a reason why one would do so. this doesn’t mean that i don’t try to have an open mind.

take mobile phones. i have now owned one on three separate occasions. on the wander north of 60, i carried one as there was a fear that i something would happen on those vast tracts of highway where only weeks later i would be found .  of course in these same vast tracts there was no coverage, a tower isn’t needed where there is no one. i found that i was checking in more on land lines in places like toad river or stewart’s crossing good luck in fireside. these areas of non coverage reached down to northern alberta and saskatchewan. the clock still worked though.

i had one during my stay in fátima. i even sent texts. this was great in meeting up at the botequim of the day.  it was useful there more for the texts than the phone as i could rarely hear when it rang or even vibration. on the streets i could barely hear. but i did think of renting a bike using it. back in the states it wasn’t a great loss to give it up.

now due to an emergency when it seems that i need to be in available, i am in baltimore lugging around one again in case i am needed. i have been. the phone has rung three times, every time while i was driving. by the time that i could pull over safely, open the phone and press the correct button, the person had rung off. i checked the text messages and all seem to be spam.
one constantly saying “check out these bitches…” the one time that i could answer the phone in time i was in front of where the caller was - i was being asked where i was.

needless to say i don’t really see the use of a mobile. unless one is walking with the phone constantly open there is no way that it can be used safely.

a pity as i received a postcard that had been made with a smart phone camera sent to postagram - http://postagramapp.com/ -  then mailed to me. the message saying something about coming on over to the dark side as the person until now while using a dslr was still using all sorts of film and dealt with tangible items.

it seemed an acceptable compromise - artefacts would be sent, i could make postcards of places where they are harder and harder to find, i wouldn’t have to search out a post office which is as difficult as finding post cards themselves. it only costs 99¢ which is less than a past card and postage.

the downside - while there is the generic quality of the pixture postcard, it cannot be made personal by the cancelling of the post office. they all stem from someplace in the u.s. so there is not that  “proof” of travel. the snap is square and can de detached for framing within the postcard format so it feels more like those postcards that littered cafés about a decade ago. i am not sure about my separation from the process.

nevertheless i have been researching smart phones for their cameras and cheap data plans so that i can move forward into this brave new mashing of technologies - fully realising that i wouldn’t be send them from those spots where i was searching for a land lines - locales where i tend to find myself more and more often - even so the first signal, the first hotspot and… post cards of carmacks as well as grand bruit.





i did get even with the person who started this temptation sent a resesky do-it yourself twinlens 35mm camera kit.

this week-end has simply shown me that the phone part still seems of little use as the phone vibrated again announcing another porn-like text.

it is the last day of the term, i hang around just enough to not look like i am racing out of the building but too late to take the train back to peasant’s pissoir. but i had a plan i would take the train to a bus then walk through bits of illinois beach state park to my bike at the station where i went into chicago.

i was reasoning that this would get me out of this grand lethargy of the part four months. the three mile walk through the park with clodoaldo would get me in the habit of not only making snaps but forcing me to slow down.

near the end of the walk i passed the house, the one that used to have the new pratt designed flag that disappeared a few years back. the machine’s plate in the driveway  still is NEWFIE.

as i pass a couple leave the house.

-excuse me but where do you belong? i ask
-i’m from corner brook newfoundl…
-yeah i stayed in curling in the old bank of montréal building that my evil twin used to own.

she was born in curling, used to walk the railway tracks downtown.
i could place her house.
we talked of taylor’s shop.
she knew tom my barber.
when i mentioned bonne bay, reminisced about the ferry to norris point.
she had family in englee, conche in fact all along the great northern. 

been exiled here for some time sister in ontario
her neighbours think that NEWFIE  means that she has a newfoundland dog.
still has the house in curling.
the flag was ragged and in the back
she should get another
invited me back for a mug up.

for some reason felt somewhat energised.