A Sunday Story

My wife and I are both studying Korean, and she is quite a bit more an advanced student. As part of my effort, I purchased 2.2 x 3.5-inch blank flash cards with binder ring to write words in Hangeul on one side and English on the other. I study vocabulary while walking, passing countless other people wearing white AirPods and listening to music. But today, I came upon kindred spirits, so to speak—likewise putting good use to their time walking.

Along Georgia Street, between Howard and Polk, in San Diego neighborhood University Heights, from behind I approached an elderly woman pushing a walker accompanied by another lady holding a smartphone from which came repeated English words. They studied a foreign language, too! The pair clearly were of Asian heritage, and I hoped Korean because wouldn’t that make a great story. But based on what little native tongue spoken between them, my guess is Japanese.

I continued studying and moving towards my destination of Petco Unleashed in Hillcrest to buy cat grass for Cali and Neko. On the return trip, along Maryland Street, I stopped at a bench to shoot the Featured Image, using Leica Q2 Monochrom. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/8, ISO 200, 1/320 sec, 28mm; 10:51 a.m. PST. The card in the forefront translates as butterfly. The one behind is cat.

Later, along Meade Ave., I passed a man sweeping the sidewalk. I turned back to compliment him on his grapevine, immortalized in previous posts: here, here, here, here, and here. About 10 years ago, the city dug a trench where had been a gutter and filled it with sand, which my neighbor says is good grape-growing soil, so he planted a vine (wine variety). For years, nothing grew because landscapers continuously overcut the branches. He told them no more trimming, and finally the berries grew. I first saw them in 2021.

I praised his lush yard, about which he explained are plants chosen so that something flowers every month of the year. I griped about the relentless clear-cutting around San Diego. He sees and also hears about it. Across the street from him lives a gentlemen that owns a tree-cutting service. He sometimes vents when clients contact him to destroy a vibrant 나무.