Vampires and Rogue Tomatoes

Several weeks ago on a Saturday morning, I altered my route from the coffee shop home, walking the opposite way around the block. I turned the corner and ran right into a vampire. (Pictured above.) He’s part of the street art project that’s been going on in Richmond the last two years. I have no idea exactly when he appeared, or how long his creation took, but for me, it was like he materialized overnight.

More recently, my husband and I were walking around our neighborhood and noticed a lone weed growing beside the building across the street from us. I saw a small yellow flower on it and went to inspect further. Turns out, it wasn’t a weed at all. It was a tomato plant, (and a rather robust one) growing out of the tiny line of dirt between the sidewalk and the building.

I made it a point to walk by the vampire on my way to work the week after I first spotted him. I paused for a second and smiled. This morning, I realized I had rushed right by him without even making eye contact. Similarly I noticed late last week that the tomato needed water. I made a mental note to take it some, but got distracted and forgot. When I remembered the next day, I showed up watering can in hand, to find it gone.

Quite often on my walk home from work I pass a man who is blind. He taps his cane against the ground and always stops perfectly at the intersections. Sometimes it seems like he is just out for an afternoon stroll, sometimes he has clearly been running errands.

How privileged I am to see vampires and rouge tomatoes.