Walk On The Mild Side

 

I bundled up for the walk this morning and found treasure in the dark.

At six this morning, there was nothing but the last dregs of night-quiet. Near the post office, I could see the street lights glowing amber-bright through the pre-dawn haze. As the sky cleared, stars shone magnificently – the Dippers, a barely visible but reddish Mars, and a few other gem clusters dazzled and I had to remember to look ahead and not up, lest I start staggering like Dudley Moore’s Arthur painting the town.

I rounded the turn in front of my house, and the post office street lights reached beams out through the trees to create their own wonder. Occasionally the quiet was punctuated by a passing car and eventually the morning mail truck unloading the good news and the bad news at the post office. In the distance, a dog sensed my presence and barked a warning – and I couldn’t blame the little fella. I was all dressed in black like a cat burglar, and deserved a bark or two for my lack of fashionista sensibility.

At the Atkinsons Candies factory nearby, I could smell them baking the day’s wares – and thinking that I really needed to keep walking, at the risk of wandering over to ask for a sample. It was tempting, but I pressed on. On the other end of the block, a neighbor’s Halloween lights cut through the long shadows, and I made a mental note to self to make sure we have candy to hand out.

Such was my morning walk. Forty minutes of quiet and mild exercise that cleared my mind and gave me some good energy to carry into today. I know it’s all New Agey and touchy-feely but it sure did me some good to get out and spend some time with myself this morning. And I really should do it more often. I promised myself I would, so we’ll see how that works out.

And if it doesn’t work out, that’s fine too. It was sure worth doing today.