D.O.P.-T.

[weofodthignen]

Yesterday I was in the center of Sunnyvale (buying a replacement bra or two while Macy's is still in business; I snapped an underwire on one of the ones that don't show under white T-shirts and other summer tops). It was getting close to noon and very hot; there was a bad air warning. But the farmer's market was going on what's left of the main street and on a section of the avenue, and the windows and balconies of the tall apartment buildings that replaced the one-and two-storey shops on the sunny side of the avenue are now dotted with potted plants and patio furniture. The older ones on the shady side where the mall and its fountain used to be are finally being finished after years left derelict; I could see lights and dimly hear construction noises from within. A portly man dressed all in bright blue was leaning against the low wall around the Nokia office block that was finished just before the shut-down; a baby in a blue-and-white-striped romper and a pink knit hat was strapped against his chest, sleeping. The incredibly thin lady in black leggings and deliberately mismatched, multicolored socks who was pushing a baby carriage with one hand while holding hands with her prettily dressed daughter smiled at them as she passed, and so did I, who'd overtaken them on the crossing. More incredibly thin and well-dressed women were going in and out of Macy's; as I stood in line to pay for my purchases, I mistook one young woman in a ground-sweeping black dress for an employee, and after an older woman had problems using a terminal to apply for a store account, a younger woman came to assist her who was wearing a pale grey shirt I would have described as a sleep shirt with front and back tails, and so diaphanous I could see the pink of her sharp shoulder blades through it. The poor cashier was almost as overweight as me and had a downturned mouth etched onto her face. Back in the sunshine, young men were marching past in clever T-shirts, and several cute little cars were parked expertly close to the kerb; I recognized the Volt but that was about it, and I suspect several others were also electric. One of the coffee shops in the new buildings had two different fronded plants in large pots outside the door; one was dead, the other dying. The next storefront was a bubble tea place, with an automatic pet watering bowl at the base of the lamp post in front.