Some moments in this thing called life

Kirk Ericson | Aug 25, 20220

I was walking alone on a sidewalk in downtown Olympia one evening a couple of weeks ago when a man who looked to be in his 20s approached me. He asked whether I had any “white.”

“Huh?” I said.

“White,” he said.

“White? What’s that?” I asked.

“It’s, you know, white.”

“Oh. White,” I said, patting my pants pockets. “I don’t have any white.”

I called a friend whose job requires spending a lot of time around criminals and he said “white” probably refers to heroin.

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I was at a funeral recently where a guitarist sang the song “Both Sides Now” by Joni Mitchell at the end of the service. The first three stanzas go like this:

“Rows and flows of angel hair

And ice cream castles in the air

And feather canyons everywhere

I’ve looked at clouds that way.

“But now they only block the sun

They rain and snow on everyone

So many things I would have done

But clouds got in my way.

“I’ve looked at clouds from both sides now

From up and down and still somehow

It’s cloud illusions I recall

I really don’t know clouds at all …”

Hearing this song at a funeral made me realize this song really isn’t about clouds at all.

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I learned about a condition called traction alopecia last year from a young man working over a hot grill at an udon noodle shop in the University District in Seattle. His long black bangs were flopping in front of his eyes, forcing him to repeatedly brush his hair away from his face. The rest of his hair was tied back in a ponytail, so I asked him why he didn’t tie his bangs back too —it was hot in that shop and he looked uncomfortable.

He bent toward me to reveal a bald spot, the size of a dime, on the crown of his head. He told me he can’t tie his bangs back tight because he has traction alopecia. According to Healthline.com, traction alopecia “is hair loss that’s caused by repeatedly pulling on your hair. You can develop this condition if you often wear your hair in a tight ponytail, bun, or braids, especially if you use chemicals or heat on your hair. Traction alopecia can be reversed if you stop pulling your hair back.”

Who knew?

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I like to think I can spot people in public places who are on a first date — solely through visual cues. It’s the way they listen politely and attentively when the other speaks, how they maintain eye contact, how they laugh when the other person says something intended to be funny, how they grin often.

Several months ago, I watched two people who appeared to be on a first date sitting at an outdoor table at a pizza place. As I walked past to leave the restaurant, I stopped at their table to ask whether they were on their first date.

Silence. After about five long seconds, the woman looked up at me and said, “Why do you ask?”

“To test my powers of observation,” I replied.

The fellow laughed and said, “Yes. It is our first date.”

“Forgive my interruption,” I said as I moved to leave. “But you both look like you’re having a wonderful time. Congratulations. Good for you two.”

The woman looked at the man.

“Yes. It is going really well,” the woman said to me. She was beaming.

The man smiled at the woman and then looked at me.

“Yes, it is,” he said.

There you have it, ladies and gentlemen: A sign of hope.