“Yellowstoner” is a new artifact captured along Sunset Boulevard a few days ago. I discovered it on a wall not far from one of the city’s many marijuana dispensaries.

After returning to Los Angeles for the first time since recreational cannabis use was legalized (not federally, but statewide), I was taken aback by how often I smelled “the weed” on the streets of Los Angeles. It must be weird to be a law enforcement officer today and no longer be allowed to investigate suspected marijuana users serendipitously.

When I was at Bancroft Junior High School in Hollywood back in the late 1970s, among the 9th graders, there was no shortage of prolific stoners and you’d smell the herb practically everywhere on the school’s campus. I remember how my math teacher, the always soft-spoken Mr. Love, would often reek of ganja as he entered the classroom ever so mellow before attempting to teach us geometry and algebra. Mr. Love had large, gold-shaded glasses, hiding what was likely a pair of bloodshot, slightly foggy eyes. If he’s still alive today, I’m convinced Mr. Love is enjoying this new ganja-friendly era.

I spent the better part of a sunny  day in Trafaria, the same small town where the gigantic storage silos are and where we took the ferry to Lisbon a few weeks ago when Elle visited. It was my second visit to Trafaria and I was determined to investigate if the town had something more to offer me visually than what I had seen during my first visit. Turns out it did. Not in an overwhelming way, but still, I did locate and capture few Resurfaced artifacts which made the excursion worthwhile. Like the piece above.

Captured this from a wall in Costa da Caparica, a sleepy, soulful suburb of Lisbon, Portugal. Like many of the places in other southern and eastern European cities that I’ve visited over the last couple of years, just as soon as I leave a big city’s ginormous urban footprint, small-town village life reappears without hesitation or embarrassment. And even there, hints of an even older era can often be seen. And it’s not unusual for me to find some really interesting artifacts in these places. Like the one above.