Yesterday I had the day off and I walked to Greenwood. From Capitol Hill. It took me two and a half hours. I saw a lot of pumpkins on porches. I saw children playing in leaves. I saw a brand new house that had caught fire and had bubbly black skin and a long burned-out scar running just under the roof, exposing the structure’s bones, also bubbly black. There was sun and there wasn’t sun. It rained. There were more hills than I was expecting, especially going from Roosevelt, down over the freeway, and up to Greenwood. Hills that are small when you’re in a car but are mountains when you’re on foot and it’s raining.

Then I spent some time at 826 Seattle, right near the intersection of 85th and Greenwood, which opened its doors yesterday. Only a couple kids showed up (it’s a writing center for humans ages 8-18, and they have afterschool drop-in hours) but, again, it just opened. High school kids, take note: It’s a fun place to be, it’s free, there are tons of talented writers and teachers to hang out with, do homework with, etc. And they’re going to start having free workshops soon, on creative writing, writing about music, college-entrance essay writing, etc. I wish to God I had a place like 826 Seattle to go to when I was a teenager. (And if you walk there from Capitol Hill, they don’t mind if you lay on the ground for a while and let your feet recover, twitching and tingling.)

And I had lunch at Gordito’s, my favorite. I love Greenwood.