Hill Street Blues

For days, I have been humming the theme song to the 80's TV show, Hill Street Blues. Strangely, I didn't watch the show, but the instrumental by Mike Post was ubiquitous. See if this doesn't ring a bell: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je2fGzKiqRM

Two days ago, I boldly informed my family that tomorrow (yesterday) would be my last day of painting the Hill Street mural.

I was boldly wrong.

This became evident pretty early on Even though I was "just touching up", I was just touching up a wall that is 117.5 feet long. I felt grumpy and discouraged. The highlight of the day was getting bonked on the shoulder by a hubcap.

Seriously. Like most modern hubcaps, it was made of of plastic, and probably weighed just a few ounces. No harm done. A poor fellow had taken the turn at the 4-way stop a tad too closely, and off it went. Having just recently experienced the need to replace a hubcap myself, I was concerned he might not not even know he'd lost it, so I started waving it madly. He parked nearby, and approached nervously. I think he was worried that I'd be injured, or worse, annoyed. Fortunately, I was able to quickly reassure him that all was well. His name was Andrew, and we discovered that we both like to buy and sell on eBay (a great place to purchase replacement hubcaps, by the way). Fortunately, his hubcap was hardly scratched, and we both continued our daily work.

Today, I was thankful on more than one occasion that I had NOT finished yesterday.

1. A friend came by to visit and brought scrumptious, homemade brownies!

2. Another friend drove by returned with coffee! When I suggested that we find a shady place to chat, she said she knew the perfect place. She wasn't kidding! Her aunt literally lives across the street, and we traipsed thither, bearing the brownies. We happily injested them with her aunt, while we got better acquainted. As always, it was a great pleasure to listen to lifelong Duluthians share their histories and perspectives. It was the kind of visit that comfortably harkens back to something you almost, but can't quite remember. Perhaps a scene from one of your favorite books.

3. A kind acquaintance who works for the city stopped by to check on my progress, and ended up volunteering his paint-sprayer and assitance to apply the varnish - a step I have been trying to figure out for weeks.

All this I would have missed if I'd finished as planned!

So, now we let the paint cure a bit, and this weekend, I will plunge into the joyful phenomenon that is Paint Duluth 3. I do hope you'll attend the exhibition on Sunday and purchase the painting that I haven't started yet! http://www.paintduluth.com/show-information/