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That random alley in Portland where I saw how rain changes everything

I was walking through a back alley near my apartment on SE Hawthorne last week during a downpour. There's this old cracked concrete path that usually looks dirty and gross. But with the rain, the colors of the wet bricks and the moss between the cracks just popped. I stood there for maybe 5 minutes just watching water run down a rusty pipe and collect in a puddle. Made me realize I've been walking past beauty every day but not seeing it because I'm always in a hurry or looking at my phone. Has anyone else had a moment where a familiar boring place became totally different in bad weather?

3 comments

3 Comments

jasonallen1mo ago

I count myself in that second photo, the guy hunched over his phone trying to dry his glasses on his shirt. There's a bus stop near my work that looks like a concrete bunker in good weather, but during a heavy fog it turns into something out of a noir movie. I stood there last Tuesday for a solid 10 minutes watching the streetlights blur through the mist, and my only thought was "wow, this is beautiful" followed immediately by "man, I really need to get my eyes checked." I think I've mistaken my own poor vision for poetic moments more than once.

the_diana1mo ago

Jason Allen, I actually see that differently. My vision is fine, but I still find real beauty in foggy bus stops and blurry streetlights. I think our eyes can be good and poetic moments can still happen. Last winter I was cleaning a house up on a hill and the whole valley was socked in with fog. I stood at the window for five minutes just watching the light from the houses below turn into soft orange glows. That wasn't my eyes fooling me. That was just how gorgeous fog can be.

matthewdixon1mo ago

But isn't that just your brain romanticizing blurry vision?