Gotta Love Portland - Valentine's Day Special

Today in honor of Valentine's Day, or, more accurately, in honor of some special someones, i wore a pink shirt and some pants-sheared-shorts with a few sparse red threads worked into the pattern. K & i went on a Valentine's morning date before i had to go to class while the little one was being watched & entertained by a family friend & corresponding munchkin. The lady and the little lady each received a flower which now sit in vases (pronounced "VAHZ-ehz") on the dining table. (The table is not dining on things of course, but rather is FOR dining.) Later i donned my Valentine's-Day-red Wost Day of the Year Ride shirt, which is a little bittersweet 'cause i wasn't able to ride this year (last Sunday) due to still being in recovery mode from an illness which more or less wiped out the whole fam for about a week. At least the shirt is festive feeling and color appropriate. I put a Super Mario power-up mushroom button on to add a little more festiveness.

Anyway, let me get to the point: riding home today across the Hawthorne Bridge i saw a few guys out of the corner of my eye who were holding a cardboard sign which appeared to say "free eggs", though as i rode past the guy asked me (i think) "Hey, do you want any free range eggs?!" It would not seem so strange to me, especially in Portland or any large-ish city in general that some random people are just standing on the side of a bridge trying to peddle eggs, but the fact that they were out loudly peddling their wares to passersby in the dark and amidst what my wife described as hurricane-like dangerous winds and rain seemed a little...odd. Then again, i probably shouldn't be that surprised. I also didn't notice any eggs that they may have had, though i was going pretty fast and as I said it was dark, so maybe their egg stash was partially concealed or just plain out of sight. Anyway, that experience was "eggsellent" and as i continued across the bridge i came upon a walking guy who appeared to me at the time like a koopa troopa. More accurately stated, he looked like one of the koopalings that has spines on their shellback, but i did think that carefully at the time about what he should technically be called. All i thought was something like, ok, there is a koopa troopa walking across the bridge! After i passed him i looked back and from the front could see that he had spiky hair and several buttons or patches up and down the shoulder straps. Nice.

Here is a photo to set the mood (add your own wind and rain):









This is not the guy i saw, but the backpack looked quite similar to the one pictured here:












Happy Valentine's Day!