My dog growls at everyone who walks by

There are many little things to discover in the day when there is no where to go, but you still keep your head up. For example, I understand that unemployed, depressed folks might close the shutters and sit beneath a blanket as day progresses toward dark. This is a most unfortunate decision since, should they open the blinds, and the windows too, they would notice that a bunch of people seem to have nothing much to do during the day, and wander around interminably, attracting the attention of dogs like mine. Aside from the pedestrian traffic, I have started to pay attention to the steady car traffic, trying to discern whether the drivers are actively engaged in seeking a destination, or if they are just driving somewhere, to get somewhere, like I do, often.

Other strange things to find when you don't work:

There is a crossing guard at the signal who makes it his duty to push the button for the wandering unemployed. He has a bright orange safety vest, so he looks official, but I don't think he is. When it's cold, he sits in his SUV and then hops out when he spots a pedestrian approaching. He makes kind comments about the weather and staying warm and being careful on the street.

There are a LOT of old people at Safeway in the middle of the day. When I worked, back in the good ol' days, I used to dream of doing the grocery shopping at a time when I wasn't competing with fast-walking, cell-phone talking, cart-pushers who wanted to snag the organic coffee quickly but then stand there contemplating WHICH organic coffee, the shade-grown Mexican or the fair-trade Colombian, while leaving their carts in the middle of the aisle and prattling on about the zillion important projects in line at work. I have found that my dream of shopping at mid-day, on a Wednesday say, is actually a nightmarish experience in which NO one moves their carts, and most of the shoppers can't reach, see or decide which product they might want to buy, let alone actually get to the coffee. It's a lovely bunch, for those lovingly patient people who want to make dry conversation about the increasing price of eggs and the change in their quality and the many kinds of bread available. But that ain't me. I don't want to talk, listen or wait for anyone. I just want to grab the shit we eat all week, and I want to leave. That's it.

Traffic is horrible by schools from noon on.

Coffee shops have a lot of those same old people on their way home from Safeway.

Cops don't pull over enough minivans.

Men driving minivans are menaces to society.

Someday, I will have a job again. Maybe. People tell me to stay positive, so I say these things to keep myself from closing the blinds and grabbing the blanket. And when I do have the job, maybe I'll miss the old folks clustering their carts in the produce section, commenting on the interesting shapes of mangos.