Today was my birthday. All I wanted for my birthday was a bicycle ride around town. Seriously, that is all I wanted. It is such a treat to just get on a my bike and ride. I feel like such a broken record sometimes, but it’s my birthday, so I can sing whatever song I like. I spent most of my day like I spend most days–writing, teaching, riding my bicycle. Today featured a lovely lunch and ice cream date with R., who, upon looking at my scrapes and lacerations from last night’s fall, thought we best check in with the health clinic. The place was closed when we got there, so I picked up some more antiseptic and went ahead and took my ride. My ankle hurts a bit, so I decided to take it easy, which meant that instead of riding out to Chalmette, I just rode around the Upper Ninth Ward, zipping along the beautiful asphalt of Poland Avenue. The sky was blue with  wispy clouds, the sun was shining, and the temps were just a little bit lower than they’ve been. It was perfect to be out on my bike, alone, even after some fits and starts. That really is where I feel most at home, most like myself, all by myself. I stopped to snap a picture of these giant rigging links, rusting in piles around Poland and Galvez. They looked like they were dropped from another planet. They belong to DCL Mooring & Rigging, and I presume they’re used for some kind of water/boat-related something-or-other. It’s late and I’m too tired to do the research. There is just so much stuff going on that I have no idea about–how it works, why it’s happening, who’s making the money, who’s losing out, where the jobs are–I don’t know, just so much stuff in the world. Here’s to another year of riding around, checking things out.