Laurel
If the day begins at 12 am I was leaving a punk show in ruby joys car. She’s driving and we are Listening to super bass with Robby and maya g
We Drop them off and drive back to rubys house in port Richmond
I’m playing sweet music on the queue &Thinking about this time last summer when ruby dropped me off in Texas
Feels weird to get to the house and the dog isn’t waiting to greet us
Ruby joy has to make soup, shes hungry.
Soup is one of the three things I list when she says “name three things I like “
Three things she doesn’t like are cats and nuts and when older men date her friends.
She eats her soup in bed.
we listen to music and she falls asleep
I take a shower, need to get shampoo! We are starting to play house and a pattern is emerging where I stay up late to read, she got me a reading light
Tonight I am reading American aurora its about the hermit kelpius in the wissahickon . Tim wrote this book , I know him. I like how he writes & what he writes about . This makes me wonder about him too.
Dream of many people landing in a field with parachutes. One guy hits the ground with no parachute don’t worry he’s fine. I can drive a car in the river, kids are swimming. I know these kids from Friends Select. Callum asks me why I’m drawing so much with the number seven? Because it’s the perfect number! I don’t believe that in real life.
If the day starts in the morning, I Wake up at nine. move slow kiss ruby bring her coffee & leave the house
Bike down the Delaware river path to old city , I like how the water smells . It’s humid!
I am going to Meet an old friend who is randomly in town for coffee.
She’s leaving today so we had to make it work. i asked if she would join me for “the Quaker city: a walking tour of old city” that I signed up for a while ago. It’s free.
the tour guide moves his hands a lot . He makes self disparaging jokes, but is funny and personable.
We pass by Christ church and I see Lauren putting out the signs to open. I wave but she doesn’t see me.
I learned a couple of things. Fire marks on old buildings served as advertising for fire insurance companies more than anything else. If your house didn’t have a fire mark they would still put the fire out. Also there was a Quaker school house in the 1700s that educated all children , boys and girls , black and white.
I told my job I was coming in late today because I wanted to take this tour.
It’s “professional development”
My friend tells me about her life in between stops. Last we saw each other was January. She has been traveling for like a year she misses having a bedroom. I do too! She thinks my life is crazy. I think her life is crazy too.
I work at Christ church nearby, my friend comes with me to work. we sit and catch up for awhile behind the counter as people trickle in and out. I introduce her to my coworkers using her new name.
She is tired of traveling she wants to settle down with her “platonic life partner”
They are thinking North Carolina even though neither of them have ever been there. I haven’t gotten to meet her partner yet.
12:30 pm my friend leaves, tourist foot traffic picks up. For some reason the bathrooms in the neighborhood house are locked.
Tish has to leave and give a different tour to a princess from the United Arab Emirates. She seems stressed about it. Brian comes back to cover for her.
3 pm I am getting sleepy!
Bob comes over from the burial ground to give me another hat (two of my favorite hats came from Bob). This one is a baseball cap with little pictures of sombreros on it, idk if I’ll wear it. He also asks if I want to give the Yellow Fever tour in September. I want to, but it happens fridays at 5 and I work at the school until 6. Bummer.
Brian is worried birds will fly into the church because someone left a window open. One time there were seven birds. I think it’s fine.
4:12 brian is talking about the Osage orange trees. The electric guitar guy is here today. The church is full of chandeliers.
“Hey folks just so you know there is a $5 admission fee if you’d like to visit the church”
“Yes there are bodies buried in the floor”
“Benjamin Franklin is buried at fifth and arch in our burial ground, it’s about 2.5 blocks west of here”
Sadly I won’t get to sweep the Pennies off his grave today, usually that’s my favorite part. Yesterday I found two wheat Pennies.
I’m tired!
5:07 leave work & bike to my parents apartment
Ruby joy wants me to meet her and maya g at the alley cat bike race thing .. maybe im too tired
Lilith calls me while im biking, we catch up a bit. She’s living in Virginia for the next couple months. She’s getting into jazz.
My mom is watching SVU & folding laundry at the apartment
I eat spicy peanut butter and grape tomatoes and tabouli , lay down for twenty minutes. I hear my dad loudly introducing the neighbors to my mom and wake up.
6:30 drink some tea , putz, change for work, brush my teeth and notice the weird dent in my tooth appears to be larger. Worrisome.
7 pm , bike to old city again for ghost tour.
First time working with Callum!
Listening to podcast about Bethlehem on the way, I need to get some ear buds
I lock up my bike and pull my costume out of a trash bag idk why I decided to carry it that way today . Wait in signers garden for callum and chat with people who came early.
41 people show up so we split them into two groups, there is a little kid in a wheelchair on my tour his name is Dennis
I take my group to:
independence hall
2. Washington square
3. holy trinity Roman Catholic Church
4. Rebecca Gratz club
5. Samuel Powel house
6. bishop White House
7. city tavern.
I see not one trace of callum along the way. He’s like a ghost. Idk how he did it. Usually if two guides are scheduled we run into each other at least once.
9pm the bell tolls nine. I ran late again. Working on being less long winded. Good tips though. I sit by Second Bank and rest for a moment.
9:30 ruby joy is making a roast pork dinner so I head that way again.
Stop at acme for two apples and a beer and a flower
Pork dinner is delicious I love the squash best. And the greens. ruby joy sometimes has to make beautiful dinner. rest of the night drink some beers & hangout & talk about gym class & other random stuff
We play truth or dare but it’s everyone vs maya g.
Bedtime. I lost track of what time. This was way harder than I thought. Like how much context is necessary to get a sense of what’s happening? Thank u for reading <3
