My bladder recognizes walls that hold space for entire worlds. An exploration of who gets to say you can't be here and the love of public spaces where everyone can.
Your article weaves together seemingly disparate threads – needing a restroom, seeking refuge in a library, witnessing an eviction – to highlight the interconnectedness of human needs. Whether it's a safe place to sleep, a public restroom, or a sense of community, these needs are universal. Your writing prompts us to consider how our own comfort and security are often built upon the exclusion of others. It's a call to empathy and a reminder that we all deserve a place to belong.
Thank you, thank you, Alexander. I worried this was all a bit disjointed as the pieces were coming together. So, I’m glad the joinder made sense for you. ♥️
I really loved listening to you read your post. It gave me the chance to close my eyes and really feel the picture you were painting. Such a beautiful, rich story that left me with an inner calm and a desire for more.
And I loved the mention of meerkats. I forgot about those little savage cuties.
Thank you for this. I often think about how libraries are one of the few places people can exist in public without needing to pay anything. Even some parks are now public property.
True. It makes me shudder to think of how many ordinations are being put in place that essentially makes it illegal for certain people to exist. It’s such a wild juxtaposition to what I see on the road going into wild open spaces that are all about existing.
Thank you so much for reading and commenting, my friend.
Reading about the eviction of Martin's Garden is one of the (many) things that makes my stomach knot as I recognize my white, middle-class, British Columbian homeowner privilege. Thank you for sharing this painful story with one of humor and joy.
I'm not sure what it's like in the US but here in Canada many of our public bathrooms are gender neutral, as they should be. Because of that I don't care which one I choose, even if they have a label, however I'm pretty sure I would make like a meercat if there was a gentleman at the urinal!
Right?! The inequity is hard to stomach. Resources in abundance, and no one has the answers on how to make changes in a system that leads to situations where not even a tiny square of dirt in a quiet neighborhood can be public space. I don’t have the answers. But I’ve been witness to too many things that aren’t it.
And yeah, I’m all for gender neutral bathrooms. But urinals in stalls in those cases seem best. 🤣 My biggest concern was alarming the poor guy.
This was really wonderful. As resident of a city struggling with so many unhoused people (Portland, OR) and a former library worker (going back to my very first job), I appreciate so much of what you are saying. (Not to mention how beautifully you are saying it.) Someone close to me will often comment approvingly when an encampment is cleared, but all I can ever think is: But where are the people now? We just keep kicking our dilemmas down the road, literally, never addressing the deeper issues. As long as we remain stuck here, I am so glad we have libraries to provide respite for those who need one.
And right? I wish we didn’t live in systems that make is so easy to other, if we’re not careful. For me, we’re all a medical crisis, a loss, a different set of circumstances of birth away from need for an encampment. Viewed that way, the closings take on a very different meaning.
Thank you, Rita, for reading and sharing you’re thoughts.
PS. Ruby the van and I are often not too far from Portland these days. :)
You capture the feeling of being unwelcome and how unsettling it can feel so very well, Holly. And I I love how you juxtaposed it to the feeling of being welcome in the library at the end.
If only I'd known you when you reached Narragansett! You'd have been very welcome to park in my little Rhode Island street.
The Narragansett library just moved around the corner to a bright new location and it makes me so happy to see the love and energy being poured into it. A couple of miles away, my nearest library (when I'm on the plot I supposedly own), there are incongruous computer screens on the heavy wooden desks of the Victorian stone building and I wonder what the future holds for these institutions that have provided so much opportunity for community and learning -- and peeing.
Awww, would love to park near your street and share a cuppa, Beth. And love knowing where in the world you are so I can reach out if I find myself that way again.
I really loved my time in Rhode Island. Love hearing this about that library! (And interested to know more about the plot you supposedly own.) ;)
I really love how you ended this piece and how you highlighted the humane and inhumane ways we treat each other throughout. This line really stuck with me: “Time for you to roll on,” he said, like I was a puppy he’d swat if he wasn’t so bored.
I LOVED THIS HOLLY! And reminded me of my own library respites throughout the years. Always felt safer and more sacred than any church I’d ever been in.:)
Your writing delivers such an embodied punch. I really felt the vacant cruelty of this scene, all too common here in Portland, as I’m sure you’ve noticed: “But really, in the dirt berm just up the road, the sun high like a dictator, sat heaps of canvas rendered useless, amid a couple dozen men and women looking on through tired eyes, the need that no longer exists.”
And thank you for generously pointing your readers to Dylan’s memoir. It’s been quite moving to hear how his wisdom and story are impacting others. Bless you. 🙏
Me too. Library over any church I’ve ever been in! It is church really, if connection is church. And it is for me. Libraries connect us to worlds, entire universes.
At least you eventually noticed. I was in a bathroom, washing my hands, when a man walked in and looked at me with surprise and I thought HE had walked in the wrong bathroom. He looked again at me and with self assurance, asked me if I knew I was in the Men's room. Meerkats are cute, my scurry out the door was more akin to that of a surprised mouse.
And I would add, at least you document and take in the encampments from all perspectives. I have no answers either, the problems are so much larger than public space. I think that libraries are surviving as public space because strangely, librarians still get respect and people observe the 'rules' when they come into the librarian's book lined space--at least that is what I like to think.
Yes, I do think respect for librarians and libraries abounds. And I think that’s, in part, because of the respect given by a place that welcomes so broadly.
Thank you, thank you, Robin! I haven’t. I think I wasn’t sure about how to do that part. 🤣 I’ll jump back over to the original post and look more closely. Thanks for the reminder.
Your article weaves together seemingly disparate threads – needing a restroom, seeking refuge in a library, witnessing an eviction – to highlight the interconnectedness of human needs. Whether it's a safe place to sleep, a public restroom, or a sense of community, these needs are universal. Your writing prompts us to consider how our own comfort and security are often built upon the exclusion of others. It's a call to empathy and a reminder that we all deserve a place to belong.
This is also what I found most marvelous, Alexander. I'm finding it to be one of Holly's many gifts.
Thank you, Elizabeth. 😊🥰
Thank you, thank you, Alexander. I worried this was all a bit disjointed as the pieces were coming together. So, I’m glad the joinder made sense for you. ♥️
I really loved listening to you read your post. It gave me the chance to close my eyes and really feel the picture you were painting. Such a beautiful, rich story that left me with an inner calm and a desire for more.
And I loved the mention of meerkats. I forgot about those little savage cuties.
Thank you, Cici!! I so appreciate you listening and commenting and being on the voice journey with me. :)
Meerkats!!
I read the post, so now I'll have to go back and listen. Nice post, Holly.
Thanks, Sue!
I also laughed out loud when you made like a meerkat!
I at one point had “like a meerkat who’s spotted a snake.” But it seemed a little … possibly suggestive? 🤣
Thank you for this. I often think about how libraries are one of the few places people can exist in public without needing to pay anything. Even some parks are now public property.
True. It makes me shudder to think of how many ordinations are being put in place that essentially makes it illegal for certain people to exist. It’s such a wild juxtaposition to what I see on the road going into wild open spaces that are all about existing.
Thank you so much for reading and commenting, my friend.
Okay, so the stuffed clams. And the prayer bead ears. And the term "explorer." And your heart. All of it sings. Thanks to you.
Awwww, thank you. I so very much appreciate you.
Reading about the eviction of Martin's Garden is one of the (many) things that makes my stomach knot as I recognize my white, middle-class, British Columbian homeowner privilege. Thank you for sharing this painful story with one of humor and joy.
I'm not sure what it's like in the US but here in Canada many of our public bathrooms are gender neutral, as they should be. Because of that I don't care which one I choose, even if they have a label, however I'm pretty sure I would make like a meercat if there was a gentleman at the urinal!
Right?! The inequity is hard to stomach. Resources in abundance, and no one has the answers on how to make changes in a system that leads to situations where not even a tiny square of dirt in a quiet neighborhood can be public space. I don’t have the answers. But I’ve been witness to too many things that aren’t it.
And yeah, I’m all for gender neutral bathrooms. But urinals in stalls in those cases seem best. 🤣 My biggest concern was alarming the poor guy.
Yes we wouldn't want to be responsible for giving anyone a heart attack!
I love how every little detail connects with the whole so seamlessly and beautifully, Holly! A lovely, touching essay.
This was really wonderful. As resident of a city struggling with so many unhoused people (Portland, OR) and a former library worker (going back to my very first job), I appreciate so much of what you are saying. (Not to mention how beautifully you are saying it.) Someone close to me will often comment approvingly when an encampment is cleared, but all I can ever think is: But where are the people now? We just keep kicking our dilemmas down the road, literally, never addressing the deeper issues. As long as we remain stuck here, I am so glad we have libraries to provide respite for those who need one.
A library would be a fantastic place to work.
And right? I wish we didn’t live in systems that make is so easy to other, if we’re not careful. For me, we’re all a medical crisis, a loss, a different set of circumstances of birth away from need for an encampment. Viewed that way, the closings take on a very different meaning.
Thank you, Rita, for reading and sharing you’re thoughts.
PS. Ruby the van and I are often not too far from Portland these days. :)
Always both amazed and delighted by your incredibly creative and provoking writing, all my senses are stirred awake. So grateful!
Awwwww! Thank you, dear friend. I’m grateful for you and so appreciate you reading and commenting. It means a lot. ♥️
Thank you, thank you 🥰
That "“You-can’t-be-here” moment really gets to me. What an adventurer you have been!
♥️
You capture the feeling of being unwelcome and how unsettling it can feel so very well, Holly. And I I love how you juxtaposed it to the feeling of being welcome in the library at the end.
A wonderful piece. :)
Thank you, my friend!!
If only I'd known you when you reached Narragansett! You'd have been very welcome to park in my little Rhode Island street.
The Narragansett library just moved around the corner to a bright new location and it makes me so happy to see the love and energy being poured into it. A couple of miles away, my nearest library (when I'm on the plot I supposedly own), there are incongruous computer screens on the heavy wooden desks of the Victorian stone building and I wonder what the future holds for these institutions that have provided so much opportunity for community and learning -- and peeing.
Awww, would love to park near your street and share a cuppa, Beth. And love knowing where in the world you are so I can reach out if I find myself that way again.
I really loved my time in Rhode Island. Love hearing this about that library! (And interested to know more about the plot you supposedly own.) ;)
I really love how you ended this piece and how you highlighted the humane and inhumane ways we treat each other throughout. This line really stuck with me: “Time for you to roll on,” he said, like I was a puppy he’d swat if he wasn’t so bored.
Thanks, Ryn! I much appreciate you reading and sharing your thoughts. 😊 And thank you for liking the ending. They can be so hard.
For the love of libraries and humanity! Love this. Thank you for writing
Thank you, Eliza! Libraries and humanity do go hand in hand, don’t they?
I LOVED THIS HOLLY! And reminded me of my own library respites throughout the years. Always felt safer and more sacred than any church I’d ever been in.:)
Your writing delivers such an embodied punch. I really felt the vacant cruelty of this scene, all too common here in Portland, as I’m sure you’ve noticed: “But really, in the dirt berm just up the road, the sun high like a dictator, sat heaps of canvas rendered useless, amid a couple dozen men and women looking on through tired eyes, the need that no longer exists.”
And thank you for generously pointing your readers to Dylan’s memoir. It’s been quite moving to hear how his wisdom and story are impacting others. Bless you. 🙏
Me too. Library over any church I’ve ever been in! It is church really, if connection is church. And it is for me. Libraries connect us to worlds, entire universes.
Yeah, it’s a scene repeated far too often. :(
And thank you, my friend. I so appreciate you.
Butting in just to say, I've long said that libraries and public schools are holy places. Yes.
Yes! Holy places. I sooo agree. Both. Thank you for saying this.
At least you eventually noticed. I was in a bathroom, washing my hands, when a man walked in and looked at me with surprise and I thought HE had walked in the wrong bathroom. He looked again at me and with self assurance, asked me if I knew I was in the Men's room. Meerkats are cute, my scurry out the door was more akin to that of a surprised mouse.
And I would add, at least you document and take in the encampments from all perspectives. I have no answers either, the problems are so much larger than public space. I think that libraries are surviving as public space because strangely, librarians still get respect and people observe the 'rules' when they come into the librarian's book lined space--at least that is what I like to think.
A surprised mouse. ;)
Yes, I do think respect for librarians and libraries abounds. And I think that’s, in part, because of the respect given by a place that welcomes so broadly.
Holly, this is wonderful! Did you share it in our Seed Pods thread yet? Did I miss it???
Thank you, thank you, Robin! I haven’t. I think I wasn’t sure about how to do that part. 🤣 I’ll jump back over to the original post and look more closely. Thanks for the reminder.