A Squirrel's Eye View

One of the blessings of my new home is a long balcony with east and west unobstructed views. From this vantage point, and often undetected by the world below, I witness breathtaking, humorous, touching and surprising events. To say my neighborhood is colorful is an understatment. Not just the exterior paint on the Victorian houses, but the technicolor lives being lived inside and out.

Take Friday night for example...."Good Friday". At the end of the day and long walk, Mocha and I took up residence on the balcony. She laying as flat as she could with her nose positioned strategically under the railing, me on a comfortable bench in the corner. The first thing my eye was drawn to was a campfire...yes, a campfire my neighbors had built on their side yard and there must have been 10 people in plastic chairs in a circle around this campfire. We are literally in the shadows of Downtown Houston, skyscrapers twinkling over our shoulders and this clan of immigrants are gathered in fellowship, sitting around a campfire, laughing boisterously, speaking in their native language, drinking beer.

All evening long, people migrated to this house. Looking east, I would see in the distance a lone figure walking down the middle of the street. One, Two, Three, Four or more times this happened throughout the evening and these sojourners were met in the same way. Voices would raise in welcome and the circle around the campfire widened. Each brought with them an offering...a six pack of beer, a bag of marshmallows, a package of weiners. As the size of the circle grew, so did the banquet. Separate, these offerings couldn't satisfy their hunger, but together, they feasted. Little did they know they fed me too.