By the River (4th Blog for Northline)

            Anita and I found our way out of that Cal Neva and back onto the streets, and we decided to head back to the river. We went over to the river to see the same setting that was also in the book Northline on page 144.  Allison was finished with her shift at the Cal Neva and she decided to take a walk down by the river to relax a little bit. She ran into Dan Mahony while on her walk, and after some convincing, he took her to get coffee at the Cal Neva lunch counter.

The route of our adventures.
A: UNR
 B: Cal Neva
C: The Little Nugget
D: The Eldorado
The random circle at the bottom: The River Walk

            As Anita and I were walking from Cal Neva towards the river, I realized that the route we took was probably the same exact route that Allison took that day after work.  We were walking from the Cal Neva to the river, and so was she.  I understand why Allison would choose to take a stroll by the river after work one day, because the river is really beautiful and calming. I’m not sure if the river walk was constructed yet in the time frame that this book takes place, but if it were, then Allison would have been headed toward beautiful fountains and bridges.

The view across the river

            When Allison saw Dan, she was not too excited to talk to him and almost wanted to avoid him.  It sort of bugged me, how unwilling she was to make friends. I know she had a difficult past and all, but there is no way for her to get over her abusive ex-boyfriend, Jimmy, unless she lets herself.  I think Allison was too closed off from the world and she did not try hard enough to give herself a good life.  With that being said, this walk that she took, and the resulting “coffee date” afterword, was really a turning point in her life, because she was leaving behind the old “girl” and actually becoming Allison, the person she was meant to be the entire time.

            When Allison was going towards the beauty of the river after a long night at work, it could symbolize her trying to find the beauty in herself after she has gone so many years of being beaten down.  There is beauty inside each and every one of us, and all Allison had to do was find it.

            Anita and I walked by the river and we observed a lot of interesting happenings.  As we were walking, a few older men started asking us how our day was, and somewhat harassing us, and I felt a little bit frightened. Downtown can be a somewhat scary place, and Allison did a very good job of surviving it without being scared off.  We saw some pigeons that were all sitting on a ledge on a bridge, and it was just strange how there were so many of them peacefully sitting there and not really doing anything.  I have never understood birds, especially pigeons.  It was nice to see the birds living in complete harmony with each other, and not squawking annoyingly or getting into fights.

The pigeons on the Bridge

            The walk by the river was relaxing and really peaceful, and I feel like I’ve grown closer to the character of Allison, and I understand her better now that I have retraced some of her steps.