Saturday, October 17th, 2020

A rocking chair sits alone on the concrete slab where the neighborhood dumps its trash. It’s pale grey and small, not one of the formidable dark wood chairs that might dominate a sitting room but an unimposing object that people might place next to a crib. It still looks usable. I go over to the slab and sit down. The chair doesn’t collapse under me, which is a good sign. I fit into it well, although its back doesn’t come up very far. The padding is comfortable. At one spot, the cloth has torn and pulled back, revealing foam rubber. I think I could fix that. I continue on my walk, wondering how I would use it. Three kitchen chairs sit, abandoned, in the city square. Green cloth covers the seats and backs. At some spots it has turned white. Bent metal tubing forms their frames. They could do well there, at least until the rains come, but I can see how someone might want to replace them. I head past the square to the ice cream shop on the main street. Its door is open, though blocked by chairs. It should only be doing deliveries, but I see people standing nearby with cones. I ask in Hebrew if it’s possible to get a cup of ice cream, but I hear myself saying “ice cream” in English. The worker replies in English. “Yes, but I’m busy, so you will have to wait for five or six minutes.” OK. After a while, she returns to the door. I get a cup of gelato, flavored with hazelnut and cheesecake. It’s in a to-go container, much larger than the usual cup. I take it back to the square. Up near the main street, I think I see the usual caregivers and wheelchairs. Looking more closely, I see that I’m wrong. Teenagers have gathered with bicycles. Their wheels line up closely enough that they look like they are connected. Nearby, a tiny girl chases after pigeons. I have never seen a child that young run so quickly. On the way home, I pass a hybrid vehicle that I have never seen before. The back half of a bicycle, with a more comfortable seat, is connected to a stroller. The handlebars form the stroller's top bar. It works well. Close to home, I sit on the rocking chair again. It’s comfortable, though the arms are a bit low. I try to picture it in my apartment. I can’t see where it would be useful. Someone else could probably use it. I leave it behind.