Wednesday, June 9, 2021

Geographical determinism

 

For many years, our townhouse block in Kane`ohe had three Gary's in a row, all of them Yankees fans. Several years back, the one Gary and his wife, a postal carrier, moved out. Today, Lilith and I were walking around the loop in Volcano, going past the little gray cottage with red trim that I've always found appealing, when we spotted a woman gardening outside (the first time I've seen a person outside the cottage). We did a double-take and decided we knew each other. She said she'd been driving the other day and told her step-brother she was sure she knew me, but not from where. Thought maybe on her postal route in Manoa. No, she was Kathy, now divorced from middle Gary of the townhouse block. I remember she'd told me a story about a difficult genealogical discovery she'd made. We talked for a while and she showed me the inside of the cottage, every bit as charming as the outside. Then Lilith commenced to bark (I'd tied her to the post outside) and she and I left. The cottage is owned by a woman who was married to its architect; when I looked her up, I realized she had been a long-time Poet in the Schools. The cottage is practically across the street from Saijo's old place. Her neighbor up the street, the one I walk with sometimes, _was_ on her Manoa route back in the day.

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