![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
another neighbor gone
2021-Apr-03, Saturday 03:50 pmI was outside doing some afternoon gardening in the front yard today. I noticed more than the usual number of people at the bus stop at the end of my block. They seemed to be dressed up like they were going somewhere. I forgot about them and continued on with my digging.
A while later, I heard drumming and native American singing. I didn't put the two events together. I locked up the house and walked towards the drumming. There's both a small mini-park and a church about two blocks away where sometimes there are outdoor gatherings, so I wanted to learn what group was performing, if I could find them.
I didn't walk far, though. I soon realized the drumming was coming from the back yard of the house at the bus stop. That's when I figured it was some kind of private ceremony happening, so I turned around to walk back home.
Passing that intersection again on foot, I noticed a hearse stopped at the bus stop, the driver walking toward the front door of that house. The drumming stopped soon afterwards.
I have no reason to think it was related to local violence or covid. Maybe it was just the death of another local elder on the block. But that's one of the cool things about this very diverse neighborhood. A few years ago, I investigated sounds closer on my block. I walked down the alley and found an old asian woman (probably Hmong, given the demographics here) chasing away evil spirits from the house. I recognized the effort immediately, smiled at her, and walked back to my house without further interrupting her music.
Plenty of skin colors and religious faiths can be found here. End the violence, and this place would be a wonderful home for an old tree hugger.
A while later, I heard drumming and native American singing. I didn't put the two events together. I locked up the house and walked towards the drumming. There's both a small mini-park and a church about two blocks away where sometimes there are outdoor gatherings, so I wanted to learn what group was performing, if I could find them.
I didn't walk far, though. I soon realized the drumming was coming from the back yard of the house at the bus stop. That's when I figured it was some kind of private ceremony happening, so I turned around to walk back home.
Passing that intersection again on foot, I noticed a hearse stopped at the bus stop, the driver walking toward the front door of that house. The drumming stopped soon afterwards.
I have no reason to think it was related to local violence or covid. Maybe it was just the death of another local elder on the block. But that's one of the cool things about this very diverse neighborhood. A few years ago, I investigated sounds closer on my block. I walked down the alley and found an old asian woman (probably Hmong, given the demographics here) chasing away evil spirits from the house. I recognized the effort immediately, smiled at her, and walked back to my house without further interrupting her music.
Plenty of skin colors and religious faiths can be found here. End the violence, and this place would be a wonderful home for an old tree hugger.