Webwords

Start at the top of the gentle hill, where the movie theatre and hardware store and restaurant are. The movie theatre plays select movies that aren’t new releases, and it isn’t part of a theatre chain; it’s a place to go for something different. Next to it, the hardware store is small, old-fashioned, family-run. Walk in and describe what you want, and they’ll find it for you.

Across the road is the bank where they recognize you when they see you. Down the road to the right is the pet food and supplies store. Pets are allowed in the store with their owners, and people talk to each other there.

Go down the hill until it evens out and the boulevard starts. On the right is the shoe repair shop, the dry cleaner’s with a woman who does alterations, bakery, second-hand clothing shop, a few others, and the health food store.

When you turn left at this point, the road forks. At the left of the fork and in the middle of the fork are two willow trees. Take the left fork, and a block later is another willow tree.

In the spring, the other trees line these side roads with pink blossoms. I start watching the trees in March to see when the blossoms are ready to burst out.

I live in a house between the two prongs of the fork a few blocks up, a quiet couple of minutes from the willow trees. I live in a town within a city, on the edge of the city, on the edge of the continent. The main road leads to the university. Beyond that is the ocean.

Every other time I’ve moved, I was moving to something, and I was ready for the transition. This time, the choice was not mine. I’m fortunate that my new home will be in the same area, and there are other good things about it. But I’ll be a little closer to traffic, and I won’t see the three willow trees every time I walk to the grocery store.