The First Few Days in Pittsburgh

     On October 3 at 4:30 pm, Leona and I were sitting in the Detroit Airport terminal waiting for our flight to Pittsburgh. We had been on the go for 25 hours since we were picked up by van in Taichung to the Taoyuan airport at 3:30 am. The plane left at 5:40 pm and arrived in Pittsburgh at 7:15 pm. We  rented a car and drove to 1101 Portland St. to our airbnb. 
     Leona just had some Popeye chicken and I had an expensive berry yogurt parfait and water for $9.00! I was put through an annoying body check after I was sent through an x-ray machine because, the agent said, I neglected to remove my wallet and lip gloss from my pocket. He frisked me, dusted my hands for explosive, and put my wallet and lip gloss back through the x-ray machine . America should watch out more for domestic wing nuts like the rich dufus who killed 60 and wounded 500 from the 32^nd floor window of a Vegas hotel the other day. 

Ashley, our airbnb host

     I had watched "East of Eden" on the plane and slept perhaps an hour or two at most spending most time listening to music on my iPod, especially Tom Petty who died of a heart attack at 66 a few days ago. I ate a lot; two meals, a snack, and my own snacks, too.  

     I was tired but we had a great vacation ahead of us. 

     October 4 was our first full day in Pittsburgh. We walked a few blocks through or beautiful airbnb neighborhood breakfast to a café for breakfast, then made a half hour drive to Beaver County to see Simone and Ted outside court among lawyers in suits at a pizza-spaghetti restaurant. We then spent the afternoon at their house in Ambridge chatting. By evening, I was driving back to Pittsburgh to meet Renna and Alex for dinner. The weather was perfect; 75 degrees, sunny. 











We saw the autumn moon before clouds covered it. 

    I wrote a poem in the morning sitting outside on the street- level wooden porch of the old brick 1101 Portland Street of house we rent the third floor: 

on the fringe of Pittsburgh

in a peaceful space

some adult's childhood

leaves yard toys artfully lain

upon golden pine needles unswept

among rows of smoked brick homes

from a brittle steel time 

distant like a train whistle blowing

from baron to gentry wind 

in an urban flower growth

through a crack in barren land

slipping bankrupted through our hands

but on a Portland Street 

there is one and only one  

crafting art and musica

into a living landscape painting

on board a bed of floating air

swinging from a front yard tree

necessarily retooled for infinity

 

    Ariel was bringing Alice but we didn't know when they were arriving or where they were staying. 

      Both Simone and Renna wish we weren't so far away in Taichung yet here we are, feeling close because of the regular contact we have on the internet. It wouldn't matter if we were in a town nearby if we didn't stay in touch. 

     Back at the 1101 Portland St., I looked at the mail, books, and one of two CD's I had delivered to Simone. Leona got her pension letter from the library. She also got two orders of two bottle of No-Bite-Me ointment, one for her aunt, and four bottles of lactose-intolerance pills paid for by her friend.

Renna came by to see and welcome us at the airbnb. We would go to dinner that night at a place called Smoke. We chatted about the plans for the evening.  On Wednesday Oct. 5th, Leona and I had dinner with Alex and Renna at a place called Smoke. At the dinner I said  I hoped to met Alex's parents before the wedding practice dinner Friday. On Thursday morning Renna and Alex arranged it. We had already agreed to meet Simone and Ted for barbecue steak lunch in Ambridge but they understood. 

     Thursday morning began late, at 10 am, because of being up all night from the excitement. We walked to have coffee and I got my first bagel of the trip. The sky was overcast and it rained as we ate but cleared as we walked back to the airbnb.

     On Thursday morning, with Simone working and Renna writing a report for school,  Leona and I took the opportunity to visit the Heinz History Museum near the Strip. I had been there before but it was a first time for Leona. We had fun at the Heinz product exhibit and the history of Pittsburgh originally a French town called Duquesne. We got a deck of Penguin hockey hero card for Ted  and some pickle mints and candy for ourselves. We then walked the Strip to get some candy and spices before taking the car up to Ambridge.