What saves me from the tedium of another day is falling hopelessly in love with the people I meet: the curly-haired barista at the coffee shop who hands me my change as if dipping his fingers into holy water; the girl with Down syndrome who talks loudly about vacationing with her grandmother; the elderly couple who grow giant bubblegum-colored puffs of dahlias at the corner of Twelfth and Chambers; the toddler girl across the street who bleats sweetly, "Mama, come see!" I fall in love with the deep timbre of my brother's laugh; the way my mother says my name; the way my father calls me sweetheart; the way my sweetheart calls me baby.
-- Bobbie Willis, Oregon from The Sun
