The Basis for Bananas, Reiterated

Over Thanksgiving, a few people asked me if I’m “still doing that blog thing?” as if it were some phase they’d hoped I would have outgrown. Welp, I haven’t outgrown it. In fact, I don’t think I’m growing much anymore, so as long as this domain name is less than $11.99/yr on godaddy, this blog is going to be at thing.

Their questions did serve a purpose of simultaneously making me feel self-conscious and making me realize that I need to update the Origins and Purpose tab, because it’s about to be 2 years outdated. In saying that, here’s a rough sketch of the latest reasoning behind my {personally} beloved blog.

It makes me write. I like to write. And I’m sheepish and self-deprecating and only capable of writing in one particular style, but having this blog makes me put words to paper, or at least fingers to keyboards, and write things. For every lame post I probably have 4 to 5 other short stories, or lists, or opinions or poems hanging out in my not backed up electronic folder called “car_writes”, filed under the “misc_personal” directory, and that’s something I'm happy about. Well not the lack of backing up part, but that'll happen. Sure, I could still write without having a blog, but having the teeniest ounce of public* accountability gives me a reason to use that thesaurus, to pause before I share my most candid opinions, to try a little harder to not spew bullshit, and to write things that matter in some tiny realm of universe.

I hear from my loved ones. Once I babbled on enough about my blog, friends caught on to my bananas on sidewalk scheme. Every so often I get a nice picture of a banana from one of their sidewalks and little did I realize, it’s become a great way to keep in touch. What’s even better is when I get a story related to the sidewalk, or when others catch on to the sightings, or when I get alerted to a new banana-focused product that someone sees. My favorite was a video of my friends’ baby playing with bananas for the first time. Really this is all a ploy to hear from friends and see baby pics, and it’s working pretty dang well.

I like doing it. It seems silly, and pointless, but if it makes a tiny moment of my day, or one of my friend’s days different- I think it’s worth it. If a banana alters your path to work, or causes you to pause half a step, or makes you to look at something from a new point of view, then therein lies the reason for Carly’s Bananas. Remember, if you look for something, you can find it, over and over again. So look for good things.

Turns out I've been stockpiling banana photos for most of the latter half of this year. Thank you one and all who sent one or many pictures my way, I appreciate it way more than the views on this blog suggest.

*3 readers counts as the public, right?

Banana at Mme Tussaud's in London

Thanks Manuel

 

Banana at my all time favorite library (with some favorite people no less!)

Thanks Katelyn and Connor for modeling

Brinkley spots a banana

Thanks Chloe

A banana sighting and some banana proselytizing by my friend Katel

Colourful bananas making their debut at a science event

MS encore

 

Can u say fad!

grocery attentiveness by TL

 

Same car different days! 

credit again to MS

I like this one

Thanks Trevor

 

Can you spot them?

Banana vibes

Thanks Smash


Banana Fam
Thanks Seth

:) :) :)

Thanks Jessica

POST SCRIPT: I wrote this at 5:45AM at the Oakland International Airport as I awaited a flight to Oregon for the holidays.  I typed the final period on this post and closed my computer to board the plane. When I looked up, this was the first thing I saw:

 

Look for the good! It's there.

Love, Carly