Blue Skies Over My Head...

It is the clearest day I've ever seen in Hong Kong. I know I've said so before, but it seems even clearer today, partly because it was so foggy yesterday and partly because the skyline has become familiar enough that when it becomes clear I see things I didn't realize were there. It's the same principle as being a fire lookout: the view around becomes so well known that the smallest smoke attracts the eye.
As I walked to the ferry this morning I read the headlines in the hands of a woman walking home. It said, "100 injured when Macau ferries collide in fog." The fog had disrupted ferry crossings for six hours yesterday, but after the passages resumed two ferries smashed hard enough to send passengers flying and crack the windshield of one of the ferries. Also a jet foil hit a fishing boat, two fishing boats went down after running into each other and in the same area a Fire Services speedboat smashed into another fishing boat. It reminds me how I'd always been afraid on ferries before they became such a commonplace part of my life. As we cross over each day, we nip in behind loaded container ships bound for other ports; we speed beside hydrofoils, cut in front of sampans and junks, skirt aircraft carriers and cross paths regularly with cruise ships.
I never saw the fog thick yesterday, but I did see the glory shining through the clouds. Today I took pictures all over town because of the clearness of the light. This picture of the plants is in a tiny park, the size of a N. American apartment, that's tucked between raised walkways. The light was especially brilliant because from one side shone the sun and from the other shone an even brighter light - the reflection from the Bank of China building. It was hotter than a greenhouse there and the weight of the air was like June. It looked even better than real life, as if my life were a movie.
I didn't worry about crossing home today. If the ferry crashed on a day like today, it was just fate. Allah Korusun after all. (Notice how high the building in the background is now compared with my banner photo!) Today looked like one of my favourite songs. This song makes me happy, though a little uneasy when I used to hear my three-year-old sing it. Tom Waits on Closing Time:
"Blue skies over my head.
Give me another reason to get out of bed.
Blue skies shine in my face
Give me another woman to take her place.
Ain't got no money,
Cupboards are bare,
No cigarettes and the kids got nothing to wear.
She walked out without a word
Now the only song's singing's that mocking bird..."