Walking Around With Jim

Two years ago Jim, Kathe's ex, moved to Corvallis. I've been making friends with him lately: playing Xiangqi, studying Mars and taking an interest in other interests of his.

The other day, I absentmindedly drove over to visit Jim (although my habit has been to bike over), and Jim suggested that we drive to a park that was further than the ones within walking distance of his home, and walk around there.

Just before we were to leave, I finally remembered to check the oil in the car when the engine was cool. I found to my alarm that there was no oil appearing on the dipstick at all.

Now, I don't know a lot about cars, but I know enough to be aware that no oil on the dipstick didn't mean there was no oil in the crankcase at all, so I wasn't too alarmed, but I did know that I needed to get the oil restored right away. So Jim and I wound up driving to the Jiffy Lube at Ninth and Circle for our outing.

It turned out quite well, actually. Jim and I walked over to the far side of Highway 99W, to where it ran parallel with a bike path and with railroad tracks, and where a narrow strip of trees and grass bounded the western edge of the KMart's parking lot.

we walked along that strip of greenery, noting how effective it actually was at shielding the parking lot from the noise of the highway. We went along that strip, noticing things like store furnishings stowed in remote parking spaces, and a beaten path which had been "paved" with planks and sheets of plywood (and even a tabletop) which ran from the back corner of the parking lot to the railroad tracks and across to the highway. Jim and I were wondering who had created it and for what sort of traffic, and then two bicyclists politely called out and passed us. I watched them go over the path, portage over the tracks and then continue across the highway and into the parking strip behind the Plaza Nine shopping center.

Jim and I looked through the overgrown back fence of the KMart, which separated it from the front parking lot of the Home Depot, then turned around and returned to the oil change place (and yes, the Sputnik did run better after a change of oil and steering fluid, and looked better after a car wash), still contemplating the significance of the thin veneer of uncivilization that had made for such an enjoyable, if unplanned, expedition.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Enjoy what you get."\\