Sometimes a walk in the neighborhood is just the thing to start off a good day. I plugged my tiny ipod earpieces into my ears, put on a sweatshirt and headed out into the cool morning. First sweet sight, a gray-haired man taking his gray-muzzled dog for a meandering walk while the dog sniffed and tried to find a place to go. The patience and love of the owner showed. Then I cranked up the music and started around the track. I can’t help but pace myself to the rhythms of the tunes so sometimes I’m bouncing right along and other times I’m a little slower and smoother. A little Mary Chapin Carpenter bounces me and a little Smokey Robinson smoothes me. Add a taste of the haunting voice of Julie Miller and a little U2–a little John Hooker and some croaky Bob Dylan. The eclectic nature of it pleases me. One of the benefits of being older is the chance to enjoy many decades of music.
But, back to my story… I rounded the track to see a worm in distress. I walked on by it. But next time around I took pity and rescued it, placing it on the grass to squirm another day. I’m like that. Then I saw a Grandpa, grandson and a dog with one of those ball-tossing things. Grandpa was teaching grandson to sling that ball with authority. The dog just waited and chased the ball whether it went five feet or fifty.
Then I bounced home to Mary Chapin Carpenter’s “I Feel Lucky.” I’m all sweaty and need to face the chores of the day, but I don’t think it could have started any better.