Coincidences. I get a huge kick out of them. But I often wonder if they really are just that? Or if all the little things we call coincidences are leading up to something larger. After all, circumstances that have led to this journey have led to these so called coincidences. Or maybe, it's all just a bunch of junk...
The other day, probably when we were driving through the Adirondack mountains from Albany to Burlington, I was thinking about how I'd like to start typing my poems on an actual type-writer, because I like the font and I like the simplicity. And I'd like to put together a little booklet to share with others to read.
We pulled into Portland, ME on the 18th, with no agenda and no place to stay, so I set up shop at Local Sprouts, a highly recommended c0-op cafe, which didn't disappoint. My decorative light switch covers are making their way into other people's homes, which is so awesome. So I decided to go out to the car to get my supplies to begin making more, and to feed the meter, and when I cam back, I noticed a type-writer sitting on a table, begging to be used. I couldn't believe my eyes and I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed it earlier. I asked my new friends behind the counter if it was always there and they didn't know anything about it either, so I sat down and typed a letter which read:
dear my dear friends,
wow, it has been a really long time since i've used one of these :) it was sitting, ready for use here at this cafe in portland, me..can you help me findone of them?? ///? i want to start typing all of my poems one one. i used to have one when i was a kiddo. it's a shame to have gotten rid of it, and my paren'ts awesome 10 speed bike.
[insert poem here]
well, it's time for the owner to use it now. just in time! thank you for reading. this was meant for your reading enjoyment.
love from the road!
Hazle Lee Dove October, 18, 2011
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Then I sat down and began collaging the covers. The rest of our stay in Portland was wonderful and our CSing hosts were amazing, taking us to lighthouses in the rain and letting me spread out my mess to finish 6 new covers. I even read some poems and attempted some songs at open mic night before Luna Moth and Blue Valley Farmer blew everyone away.
Fast forward to Cambridge and Boston. It was really comforting to stay with friends from Oklahoma and run through streets so tiny, I felt like I was on the set of a theatrical play. We got to the house show and I met some of the hosts. I walked into my new friend's room and guess what was sitting on her desk? Yep. And she proceeded to tell me she had two, after publicly displaying all of my excitement. So I asked her if she would consider selling one of them to me. It wasn't until after the show that I told her about my plan, and eventually found myself sharing the letter with her. And she thought about it throughout all the beautifully moving music that was performed that evening and afterward told me I could give her $10 for the typewriter that shares the color of a dove. Want to know what really fuels that coincidence flame? My friend is from Peru, which is where the main character of my book is living and doing field work, deep in the Amazonian jungle, with an indigenous tribe that consists of about 50 members.
Yesterday, we walked around Walden Pond State Reservation and later walked around Boston for the purpose of looking for their local Food Not Bombs serving site, only to the Occupy Boston, and coincidentally, the Food Not Bombs information table. It was being manned by the co-founder, who pointed out where the first FNB site took place, across the street, 30 years ago. He stayed with one of my friends from Oklahoma when his car broke down for about two weeks.
http://www.foodnotbombs.net/
Today, I am typing all of this in a penthouse apartment, overlooking about 50 rooftops, and straight down Madison Ave, watching the taxis inch by. Nearly a stones through behind me is the Empire State Building and in front of me, to my right, is the Chryslter Building. I'm staying with a friend from Oklahoma, who told me last night that I'd have a lot in common with her other friend who is also staying with her. She told me she did Peace Corps in West Africa and that they met when they were both living in Burlington. Later, in walked in her friend, it turns we had already met, in The Gambia, because that's where both of us served. I barely knew her then, and barely know her now, but jesus christ, what a coincidence.
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