alley walk again

I haven’t been walking the local alleys recently . I decided to get back to it yesterday , so I hit the road . I mean I hit the alley .

There are plenty of places I wouldn’t walk alleys . You know , the places that are dirty and dangerous . I’m not engaged in any social science research requiring me to take risks . I’m not interested in interacting with derelicts , druggies , robbers , thugs , hookers , or wandering hooligans as I stroll along  . The  worst I’ve encountered in Arcadia are madly active  clucking squirrels and an occasional skittering raccoon , their long sharp nails scratching along concrete curbs in hasty retreat . Well , two or three times  lost bears , also , come down from the nearby hills . They  are most likely  looking for a hot tub ( local bears love hot tubs ! ) or dog food  hors d’oeuvres . The bears are usually wise enough , or fastidious enough , though , to stay out of the alleys  and to stick to the roads .

One day I’ll , no doubt , come upon a day-dreaming bear  climbing out of one of the alley dumpsters as I pass . That will be a whole new ballgame . Let’s see ……..with a grizzly ( none in CA since the 1800s ) you just curl up , play dead , and pray . But with a black bear you make yourself as big as possible , hold your arms up , back away slowly . Make noise ; but try not to be annoying .  And , I guess , pray .  Oh yeah , and try NOT  to place yourself between the momma bear and her cubs . Oh , and bears , according to Forest Service  signs , don’t like dogs ; so , sorry , if you’re walking a dog……………..

I noticed , in a few spots along our alleys , someone has planted flowers . For me and other alley walkers ? How nice !   Usually ,  the alley  plantings are desperate and lonely hobo plants , able to get by without much care or affection , with food and drink  coming only intermittently .  Some of them show it , clearly barely surviving ,  and others  maintain a respectability  front ; they  manage to hide any outward  effects of destitution or dereliction .

Generally , the Arcadia alleys , so far , are still navigable .  Trash barrels and dumpsters still line up every day , waiting for their weekly visit from the grumbling trash truck . Everything seems in order in this alley world . No mess ; no stress . Sure , there’s a little neglect evident here and there . Let’s mark that down as a bonus , a functional trade off , the price of some extra privacy and independence , an  acceptable cost of being left in peace .