Only in Arcata...
there are daily occurencess in this village of ours that quickly become the stuff that legends are made of. For truly, things that happen in our little home town, can be obscure, quirky, amazing, funny, awsome, and sorrowful... most are ,more than likely, purely humboldt phenomenons. I like to find the irony and laughter in life... because more often than not, life has a way of kicing in your teeth... so smile while ya still got some left!
Okay... so what is an "Only in Arcata" moment... well some of my examples include...
I recently witnessed a woman chasing a runnaway baby carriage... this was concerning... but not as strange as the man who jumped out of the van that the woman had jumped out of... he looked at me, as I was driving by, like I was some kind of alien...all the while with full out clown face on... red nose and lips and all!
The next day... in the very same spot... an older woman... obviously one of the done tribe.... had all of her worldly belongings spread out in a circle on the sidewalk... as she proceeded to change her clothes...on a busiy corner off Giuntoli Rd.
Years ago... I lived in an apartment with a big back yard. One day, I looked out the back door, and there was a woman? man? not realy sure... sitting on my poarch... with no pants and a sesamy street doll!
Okay... another one... recently witnessed a man trying to open his canned goods ( I think ) by rubbing them against a street curb.
I know that people have even better ones... So give me back an "Only in Arcata" moment
there are daily occurencess in this village of ours that quickly become the stuff that legends are made of. For truly, things that happen in our little home town, can be obscure, quirky, amazing, funny, awsome, and sorrowful... most are ,more than likely, purely humboldt phenomenons. I like to find the irony and laughter in life... because more often than not, life has a way of kicing in your teeth... so smile while ya still got some left!
Okay... so what is an "Only in Arcata" moment... well some of my examples include...
I recently witnessed a woman chasing a runnaway baby carriage... this was concerning... but not as strange as the man who jumped out of the van that the woman had jumped out of... he looked at me, as I was driving by, like I was some kind of alien...all the while with full out clown face on... red nose and lips and all!
The next day... in the very same spot... an older woman... obviously one of the done tribe.... had all of her worldly belongings spread out in a circle on the sidewalk... as she proceeded to change her clothes...on a busiy corner off Giuntoli Rd.
Years ago... I lived in an apartment with a big back yard. One day, I looked out the back door, and there was a woman? man? not realy sure... sitting on my poarch... with no pants and a sesamy street doll!
Okay... another one... recently witnessed a man trying to open his canned goods ( I think ) by rubbing them against a street curb.
I know that people have even better ones... So give me back an "Only in Arcata" moment
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California
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Re: Only in Arcata...
Mon, April 7, 2008 - 2:53 PMi once saw a car pass Los Bagels and they dropped or ran over something glass that broke. the car pulled over, and a guy got out and came into LB's to ask for a broom and dustpan to clean up the broken glass! that has always been a definitive 'only in Arcata' moment to me...
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Re: Only in Arcata...
Mon, April 7, 2008 - 10:24 PMGood one!...
Reminded me of a scene I witnessed... but it was in Eureka Tweakerville, not Arcata... still Humboldt, but a different world altogether… another plane of reality within it's self! Well, there I am, waiting at the red-light on V Street.... going toward Myrtle. Next thing I know, a man tosses a see through Tupperware container out the window of the passenger side of his vehicular devise... the Tupperware proceeds to make impact with the black tar road and shatter into a million little pieces. What was in the Tupperware? you may be asking yourself this very question… then again… you might not give a sh*#...however, it appeared to be a good amount of fluffy, green, bud, like plants that blew in the wind of passers bye like miniature tumbleweeds… and some glass pipes (that just don't have much bounce to them). Well it all laid there for a matter of seconds until a giant semi came rolling along and blew it all to smithereens! Tragic really!
I still can't figure out why the Tupperware container (treasure chest of good fortune) was tossed out the window so carelessly... I didn't see any men in blue or even a flashing light... just the red, yellow and green lights that hung before me, keeping me from going about my way.... just long enough to watch yet another very odd event!
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Re: Only in Arcata...
Tue, April 8, 2008 - 6:38 PMOkay Kids... gotta new one...
Only in Arcata... can a Man with dreads down to his ... tushy.... pull up to the local elementary school in his expensive, huge SUV... get out dressed partially in camo, smelling to high holly heaven like the kind... ganja... walk into the school, retrieve his mini-me child (who looks like a carbon copy but for the streaks of purple in his/her dreads)... They then proceed to walk back out of the school... (All the while getting everybody stoned along the way simply because of the overpowering delicious odder that lingers along the path that he walks.) Before leaving the building though, he engages in conversation with other parents, teachers, and staff members... and simply proceeds to take his dank stanky ... fanny... and his little one... and board the big rig... and drive away into the sunset. Anywhere else in this country... I believe... he would not have rode off into the sunset quite so easily!
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Re: Only in Arcata...
Thu, April 10, 2008 - 8:39 AM3 times in 3 minutes outside of longs this kid asked me for spare change, like he didnt recognize me after the first two times. the third time, i said "do i really have to answer this question again?"... to which he replied "well can you spare a nug?"... **sigh**
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Re: Only in Arcata...
Thu, April 10, 2008 - 8:43 AMoh oh a good one! standing out front of ecosolutions i saw a business type woman walk by on her cell phone, carrying lots of things in her arms and trying not to spill her coffee. A late 20s college looking man comes running around the corner yelling "miss! miss!". When she turns around, he hands her a (fairly thick) bank bag, to which the look on her face said a lot more than her mouth's astonished "thank you so much. i would have been in so much trouble!!" Where I'm from... that's fairly unheard of. I was pretty happy to live where I live after witnessing this. -
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Re: Only in Arcata...
Thu, April 10, 2008 - 9:36 AMYears ago, I was at a private party in Arcata & my purse was stolen. My wallet, including ID & credit cards, camera & paycheck were all lost. Well guess what.....turns out a young boy had found my stuff (all except the camera) shoved in a bush by his school. He brought it home & told his dad. They tried to find me, but my license still had my old bay area address. So....turns out the father worked with my landlord who he told the story to & showed the license to & amazingly I had been found & my belongings returned in full!! It's a small, small world, especially when you live in Arcata.
On that note, I recently moved down to the Sac area. A woman in the grocery store in front of my boyfriend & myself dropped a small wad of cash out of her pocket. My boyfriend quickly scooped it up & tapped her on the shoulder. She looked like she was about to hit him, when she realized what he was "bothering" her for. "I saw you drop this". Her looked changed to disbelief & she quietly uttered, "hey, thanks". Who said doing the right thing couldn't make it's way out of Arcata:) -
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Re: Only in Arcata...
Thu, April 10, 2008 - 10:46 AMI looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooove these last posts!
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Re: Only in Arcata...
Thu, April 10, 2008 - 6:21 PMI find ganja on the street, on the sidewalk, and on the porch. In jars and in bags. Strangers give it to me at parties. I bake cookies and give them away. Only in Arcata. Sorry, I'm from Virginia. I got scolded by a cop for smoking a joint behind Jambalaya. She yelled at me and sent me back inside. My friend thought it was rude...
And you've all seen what they do on the plaza at Halloween? I can't belive this place.
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Re: Only in Arcata...
Thu, April 10, 2008 - 9:10 PMHAAHAHAHA!!!!!
I too have found it on the sidewalk, at the laundro-mat, and in my tip jar at an old job.
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Re: Only in Arcata...
Fri, April 11, 2008 - 4:38 PMQuite a while back, before the plaza got locked down, i was sitting on a bench in the evening reading a book. There was a blanket with a hippy under it about 10 feet away, on the grass. His girlfriend showed up and got under it with himm. I didn't notice them again until i saw them start tossing clothes out from under the blanket. Before long they were going at it under blanket, loud enough to make a dog run over and start barking. Which didn't stop them. -
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Re: Only in Arcata...
Fri, April 18, 2008 - 8:37 PMA girlfriend witnessed a public act of hippy love...she was walking through the Health Sport parking lot to go to Safeway, minding her merry business, and happened to notice a dark patch in the baseball field. Thinking it was maybe just a local basking in the afternoon sun, she paid no mind and continued on the path...until she got closer and noticed that it was, in fact, a couple of dready hippies going at it....no blankie in sight. Quite an experience for a teenager from North Carolina.
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Re: Only in Arcata...
Sun, April 27, 2008 - 11:12 PMOkay new ONLY moment....
Only in Arcata....
do you see two perfectly able bodied men in their early 20's, each with their own baby carriage /recycling vehicle.... crammed to over flow with garbage bags full of cans.... AT 8 AM!
Only in Arcata....
can you find Hunter S. Thompson's soul reincarnated in the cloned body of Janis Joplin.
Only in Arcata...
does a “street person” become a community icon and living legend… enough so, that a child actually creates a Halloween costume that pays homage to said homeless personality (Rag Man…) as well… Arcata is perhaps the only place I’ve seen where community members have a kind enough heart to help reunite “the legend” with his long lost family.
Only in Arcata…
Doe the weekly paper have weekly police reports that are not only humorously and enjoyably written… but the subject matter tends to be bigger than life, stuff that’s so funny and bizarre that it couldn’t have been made up, even if you tried!
Only in Arcata…
have I found such a committed community of people who are so full of creativity, love, joy, music, and open welcoming hearts! -
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Re: Only in Arcata...
Mon, April 28, 2008 - 1:27 PM
Only in Arcata do I get cut off by an SUV, at night, me with no light, and he stopping at a house up the street, yells an honest apology. Leaving me dumbfounded as it was I with out the light...
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Re: Only in Arcata...
Thu, May 8, 2008 - 1:18 PMdo i find a $100 bill on the ground when im broke and pay days 5 days away. :-)
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Re: Only in Arcata...
Sat, May 10, 2008 - 1:53 PMOnly in Arcata, directly on the side of HWY 101, would I see one bum standing guard while the other takes a dump behind a few blades of tall grass...
