Mikeology

Just as I expected to celebrate the move into my new home this week, I learned that a special friend from long ago had died from cancer last April.

As it happens, WaterFire Providence was celebrating the fight against cancer this weekend. Downtown was teeming with cancer survivors, cancer fighters, and their loved ones. After saying good-bye to some house guests, I walked over to the Capitol and the riverwalk with my camera.

I sobbed for my friend while taking these pictures of tributes and dedications.

I hope to have more to say soon.

I rarely update this blog — you may find me regularly on Facebook and various political sites — but for those of you who don’t possess or desire an addiction to social media…

I present to you some pictures of my new condominium prior to any renovations. All rooms have a western brick exposure; blinds are pulled shut to reduce glare.

It’s a challenge to live sustainably if one owns an arable plot of land — growing one’s own food, generating as little trash as possible, recycling every shred or drop of waste, developing home-grown energy sources. On Amazon.com the other day, I found several books that help struggling landowners take strides toward sustainability.

But what constitutes sustainability when one lives in a yardless loft that is built atop brownfields?

That’s my predicament at the moment. I moved to the city this summer to conserve fuel and land, to get some exercise, and to refrain from contributing to sprawl and the destruction of farmland, wetlands, and forest. (OK, I moved here to be within an easy walk to Starbucks, a Mongolian grille, and a Cheesecake Factory, too.)

Sure, I can recycle, I can join the Sierra Club, I can attend hearings in support of public transit, I can draw neighbors’ attention to the polluted river out front, and I can wean myself off of bottled beverages.

But what then?