And then I saw a linoleum floor, made up of red and blue squares set obliquely to the wall. The floor was nearly but not exactly square and bounded by molding and wainscoting. Opposite the front door was a window and to the left of the window, on the wall perpendicular to the window wall, was another door. Crown molding went around the top of the wall, and the ceiling was smooth. In the middle of the ceiling were two exposed light-bulbs. One bulb was out. The walls were painted a faint yellow and the ceiling was white. The window was an old casement window with four square panes on the top and bottom half. This window was slightly open and a glass of water was on the sill to the left side, near the door on the wall perpendicular to the window wall. The front door was open, which was how I knew what the room looked like. I was walking down a hallway about two and a half people wide. I had just walked up to this floor from the floor below and taken about ten steps down the hall, to the right, as I left the stair landing. I was in a hurry down the hall and would have missed the room if I hadn't caught it from the corner of my eye as I was lifting my glance from my watch. It was 3 pm. I thought, "it's not often that the time is exactly on the hour like this." I was late. This building had been abandoned for a few months and was going to be demolished. In its place was going to be a newer building with cleaner offices and bigger; with larger windows and more floors; with central heat and air; with that neutral smooth carpeting that infiltrates institutional buildings now, and over head fluorescent lights. This space that I'm in right now will no longer exist in this way. This space will be part office and part hall and the floor will likely be where my knees are now. This building itself replaced an earlier building from a time in the last century. That building did not have more than one floor and was really more a cabin - a dog trot cabin with an open breezeway. This would be unknown except for an earlier photo. That building had burned down. When they excavate this site workmen will find a layer of ash. As I exited this building I looked behind me. I was walking down a path through an arboretum but I turned before entering and had the chance to see the room with the glass of water on the window sill. It was still there and I could see it well.
By Tuesday yahoo/weather says that temperatures should be 70 here in Durham. But today it's in the 30s. I know that winter is supposed to be cold, but I've never gotten used to it. I remember, back in 1982, in January, my first quarter at UGA, snow accumulated up to 6 inches. I went into drawing class at 1:30 and when I left at 4 the ground was covered with snow. I couldn't get my car out and I was stranded. At the time I was new to Athens and didn't know any thing about getting around the city. I was generally trapped in my room- an apartment in someone's house. I cooked soup on a hot plate. I was miserable.
