The Chestnut Street Special
Yesterday afternoon I went to Chestnut Street to do a little shopping. I stopped by apple (no, I did not buy the new iphone) and then we grabbed sandwiches at Lucca. As Natalie was inside placing the order (Lucca Special & Limonata), I waited outside with Max the dog. When left alone, Max lets out a shrill (imagine the cry of a large bird as it goes in for a kill). As I stood there, I noticed a young girl sitting with a cardboard sign which read “Trying to get to Oregon”. I chuckled because a) the whole time I lived in Oregon, I was trying to get to California (sorry NW pals) and b) Once, about her age, I embraced the “hippie life” for a short while. “Hippie life” to me meant wearing a hemp necklace (along with my J Crew polos), listening to LEGEND non-stop, and occasionally partying in the basements of various old houses in Corvallis, Oregon. I also named my cat Marley and hung Tibetan prayer flags. I was sooo enlightened.
My new hippie friend was ironically trying to get to Eugene, the location of my alma mater’s rival. Eugene is also the location of many hippies who really embrace the lifestyle. She and her boyfriend had hitchiked from Wisconsin to Eugene (wow) and then ventured down to California because she had been born here in the Golden State. Ironically, she had been born in Newport Beach, at the same hospital that I was born in (about 7 years after me). She was sweet, blue eyed, and had a line up of teeth that you aren’t born with (same as me).
She shared that she was so anxious to get back to Eugene - she’d sell her camera. With the money, they could get Greyhound tickets to Eugene and be there the next day. This of course begged me to ask “What type of camera do you have?” Tory revealed a Nikon D50, with additional lens, sun filters and massive carrying bag. For the last two weeks I have been looking at a similar Nikon. It’s about $800. She asked for $150. I gave her $180. She removed her stash of weed and tampons from the bag and handed it over. “This camera will make you famous” were her last words. After getting home, and seeing all of her hillarious pictures, I wish I had given her even more money.
Needless to say, I have been snapping pics. View them here. I’ve even thrown in a couple of Tory’s 1107 pics that she left on the camera. Let’s hope the camera does make me famous, and that Tory arrives in Eugene later today.
