Charm Bracelet

Living in San Francisco, I frequently encountered things or events that were overlooked by many but made me happy. I started to think of these as charms for an invisible charm bracelet. Z would sometimes say,"Charm bracelet?" when he realized I had dropped back to photograph a doorknob or tiny piece of graffiti, and soon he began noticing them too. A front door painted in rainbow stripes, the curvy lines of a gate, a cute message scribbled on the chalkboard outside a coffee shop...though some of my favorite charm bracelet moments were unphotographable. The man dressed as a disco ball, leading an impromptu parade of four down the sidewalk to the sounds of Earth Wind and Fire (yes, Z and I made up half the parade) is one of my favorites.

It was in San Francisco that I realized my habit of noticing and photographing doorknobs, fire hydrants, things written in cement wasn't weird. Okay, maybe it is but it is a weirdness I fully embrace. Finding (and documenting if I can) tiny moments of beauty and joy help make up for the all instances of apathy, anger, and sadness. Besides, having all that color, texture, and humanity around made mundane tasks like walking to the library something much more memorable.

The charm bracelet is filling up at a much slower rate here in San Diego. The routes I can walk safely are limited and largely residential which makes me look even closer for those vibrant moments. Finding pops of color in my suburban neighborhood has become a personal challenge.

Other common San Diego "charm bracelets": cats sleeping outside, dogs frolicking in the waves, and people riding bikes while carrying surfboards (bonus points if the biker/surfer is still wearing a wetsuit). 

In a world that is often dangerous and ugly on a huge scale, these could be viewed as insignificant or frivolous. Maybe they are. I'm sure many would scoff at a painted van and dictate "better" uses for the creator's time and talent. I choose to think that each of these small strikes against blandness represents a person or people with creativity and the courage to exercise it. We could do with a lot more of that.