Norbert Bagel standing beside the ice machine at the Desert Vista Motor Lodge — Desert Vista Motor Lodge, outside Flagstaff. The ice was free if you had the bucket.

Notes & selected photographs

I notice things.
Most of them seem
small at first.

I’m Norbert. I worked thirty-seven years in municipal purchasing, which teaches a person the difference between inexpensive and cheap, and also where the difference tends to go. I write about trips, appliances, sandwiches, and the little arrangements we make for one another without quite admitting who arranged them.

From the notebook

August 11, 2026 · Grocery

The cart return was forty-seven steps away

A man left his cart beside the accessible-parking sign because, he explained to no one, he was in a hurry. We are all in a hurry. Some of us save time by leaving the remaining distance to a person whose name is stitched over his heart.

July 29, 2026 · Arizona

Ice machine, building C

The machine made a noise like a bowling ball being considered but not dropped. Every forty-five seconds, it reconsidered. At breakfast, the desk clerk apologized as though she had designed it. We accepted this because an apology is often the only repair a person is authorized to make.

July 3, 2026 · Complimentary breakfast

Three waffles, none of them eaten

The boy made three waffles to determine which was roundest. His father photographed the winner, then asked why there was no real maple syrup. The woman refilling the batter said she hoped we enjoyed our stay. Hers had begun at 4:30.

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I notice things.Most of them seemsmall at first.

From the notebook

The cart return was forty-seven steps away

Ice machine, building C

Three waffles, none of them eaten

I notice things.
Most of them seem
small at first.