We are kind of obsessing

        After almost daily transmissions for three weeks, Radio Free Random has hit a random hiatus. No shows since April 15. That’s randomness for ya!

Baseball, on the other hand, has shown no sign of abating. I’ve watched or listened to all 22 Giants games played so far, keeping score with #2 HB soft Ticonderoga pencil in a college-ruled notebook. The team is doing quite well, with hiccups here and there—like yesterday when they blew a 3-run lead in the bottom of the ninth in Anaheim and allowed the Angels to come back and win with a walk-off 3-run double—after hitting an Angel with a pitch and forcing in a run, darn it.

As Mrs. Random mentioned in her latest blog post, we are kind of obsessing over a house that we may have a chance to buy. There are lots of uncertainties and questions, and at the moment we have no control, but that’s not stopping us from fantasizing. If nothing else, it’s demonstrating rather clearly to us that we’re kinda ready to move on, leave this neighborhood we’ve lived in for 35 years, and try a new domestic situation.

On Saturday I took my new (to me) Lumix GM1 camera downtown, on foot, for some street photography. The prospect of Saturday Market, Farmers Market, and lots of anti-Trump protesters (and, it turns out, bonus zealot preachers) all happening in a small area was very alluring. I’ll post some images after the prose.

First stop Saturday, though, was the downtown public library, where I returned several books and DVDs that we’ve had checked out for a couple months. I had to wait while a dad with two young boys refereed them taking turns putting their books into the slot, onto the conveyor belt, as they squabbled back and forth. “Now Johnny let Timmy put his book in.” “Thank you Johnny for letting Timmy return his book.” “Please don’t argue with each other.” “Thank you Timmy for letting Johnny put his book in.” ETC. (Not their real names.) I’m sure the boys felt very empowered. Anyway, after forever, I finally got to put my books and discs into the return slot.

Then, as I was taking off my jacket (the outside temp was rising) and stuffing it into my backpack, a young woman who’d been sitting on one of the nearby benches approached me. “Hi, it looks like you’re interested in photography—you’ve got a camera on your neck and another camera there!” (I’d also brought my Canon S120 and it was out while I arranged the contents of my backpack). “Yes, and I have more cameras at home,” I laughed. Turns out she’s a University of Oregon student and needed subjects to interview for a class project. Apparently she was not having much luck, because when I agreed to an interview, she thanked me profusely, “You’re saving my ass here!”

Her name was Gracie, and the interview was fun. After getting my name and age and learning that I’m retired, she wanted to know what I do with my time. I mentioned typewriters, photography, baseball, and Radio Free Random. She immediately glommed on to RFR and wanted to know all about it. Turns out Gracie’s a podcaster and YouTuber, so we kind of talked shop. And I made her squeal when I subscribed to her YT channel on my phone there on the spot. So that was fun. After the interview I headed over to 8th and Oak where the action was happening.