The Oddities We See

My mind is filled with a vast conglomeration of oddities, that I have stored in my memory for days like this when I search to write something of significance. Something triggers my brain, such as a half glued-on eyelash floating by on the wind, and I’m off running. My fingers glide across the key board in hopes of sharing what is really going on in my mind, as you just sit there waiting, starring out into the great unknown with not a care in the world. My husband marvels at what my mind finds interesting while he is thinking of nothing at all. Who are you? Are you the person who notices the strange things around you, or do you sit quietly in your own world without thought, relishing in the silence of it all?

One of the great things about my life is that I have been able to travel all over the world. I have seen things that many people have only seen in books. But, if you ask my husband, he will tell you that it’s the odd things that I seem to be infatuated with, not the famous monuments, museums, or landmarks. Oh, they are awesome, but they aren’t as much fun as the strange things I see.

Case in point, years ago I found out that I DO think very diffrently than my husband, as we were traversing across the United States on Interstate 10. The sun was beating down on our little Toyota truck with no air conditioning, and the desert heat was unbearable. I slipped on my sunglasses to shield my light blue eyes from the immense sunrays, when I came up with this revelation.

“You know,” I began, speaking to my husband, “If they had had sunglasses during the time of covered wagons, they may have stopped here instead of pushing on to California.” My husband glanced at me as if I were crazy. “It’s really quite beautiful out here. Don’t you think?”

He did not agree with me. It was hot, dry and barren. He could not see the shadows of the dunes, the pinks of the sand, the hues of the sky meeting the earth in all directions. But I could imagine and wonder what it was like to be a pioneer.

Recently I was walking my daughter’s dog in the heart of West Hollywood, when I came across an alley of artwork. Clearly someone had come along and started graffiti. As I progressed down the narrow street, the art changed into lavish painted works of  a modern form. I stood wondering if the work had been done at night or if several artists showed up one day and began to paint. People walked by me as if not seeing the beauty displayed like a museum in front of them. I wondered, who were these artists? What do they do for a living? Why paint on an alley wall? Why do people not stop and admire this amazing free art?

I suppose it’s not the odd things that I see that stand out, but the questions I ask of myself when I see something unusual. I wonder why a local church has a roof made with decorative floral tiles, why people hang t-shirts in windows instead of towels, why someone leaves shoes hanging on a telephone wire. I wonder why in Key West the houses are painted in pastels, and in Germany why people clean their streets on a particular day. I ask why there’s always one family on a street that let’s their yard go to seed while the rest live in a manicured haven.

I’m certain my husband gets tired of my endless observations and questions that follow. Perhaps my attention to the details around me makes me a better writer… or maybe not. But I do know this, that I do make long drives interesting, as I point out all the oddities I see along the way. Maybe I’m annoying…but I always end up back at that first long truck ride, when talking to my husband, pointing out how nice it would have been to have had a heater in a carriage during colonial times on the way to Washington, DC. I always get a chuckle, and he usually always responds with, “and imagine if they had sunglasses?”

So the next time you are out and about, take a look around you and see what odd thing stands out to you? Is there a pet pig walking down the street, dried dung being sold in a store, or cattle ranch in the middle of the desert? Is there a man handing out shaving kits on the side of the road or a person wearing a bamboo hat with a braid to the ground? Is there a dog wearing a tie or a house made of bottlecaps? Life is full of interesting oddities that can encourage the mind to question and imagine. And oh, we should all imagine, for life is so much more interesting when we dare to explore the questions our mind has to offer.