I'm happy I'm finally strong enough to take a walk most mornings. Being outside, especially in my neighborhood, helps me as much spiritually and emotionally as it does physically.
On Saturday mornings my friend comes to call bringing me treats from Panera. But the best treat is her presence. Recently we've been sitting in the yard for our lengthly conversations. We talk about everything under the sun but no petty gossip and complaining.
This past Saturday her chair was facing the corner and she was noticing how many cars don't stop for the stop sign at this corner. This is a frequent experience. It's a very quiet street so I get it. If you click on the photo you can barely see the back of the stop sign.
When we discussed this it made me remember this story. Years ago my husband, Ken, and I were watching on television the preparations for a space launch about to blast off from Cape Canaveral. At that time there was a place in the middle of this street where you could look to the east and see the blast off go straight up and arc over the sky. Spectacular and amazing since the Cape is about 50 miles away.
So Ken, who was struggling with his health, both physically and cognitively, decided he would go out to the spot to watch the blast off. I though I would go with him but when I saw what was happening at the stop sign I thought, "You're on your own Ken."
At that particular time there was a police officer pulling over a neighbor to give her a ticket for running the sign. She was not happy and she was loudly sharing her fury with the officer who, by this time, was equally unhappy.
So I let Ken hobble out there all by himself. He confronted the lady and the cop and let them know what was about to happen. I don't know how he managed it but he even got the woman to get out of her car (it was facing the wrong direction) and she, the cop and Ken stood in the middle of the street and watched in awe at the spectacular rocket launch. By the time it was over the lady and the cop were speaking kindly to each other.
So the lesson for me today is, keep looking UP!
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