Sunsets and Stop Lights

Dear Maria,

Well of course I am sitting down to write as it rains because the next time the sun shines I intend to be out there, not in here. Max has retreated to his blanket as we are now well over an hour past time for our neighborhood jaunt. Several times this morning I opened the sliding glass door for him, and he barely extended his nose, sniffed the air a bit, and retreated. Smart boy.

A few blooms scattered about on the tea olives and the hint of flowers to come on the loropetalum—the established ones at least. First week of February, first week of February, first week of February. Got it. Nice calendar alignment for my friends in Louisiana with Valentine’s Day and then President’s Day the day before Mardi Gras. That weekend should be even more that weekend.

This morning a friend returned my wish for a quiet day, and all I could think was how unusual were it not to be so for me. My daily reality puts me at odds with many friends and family members who experience life as a roller-coaster ride that does, to be fair, make some stops along the way.

Last week as I was driving home from supper, a sunset developed that would bring painters to their knees. At one point, while stopped at a light, I looked to the cars on either side of me. The driver on my left was looking off, not toward but away from a sky of oranges and blues. She, lost in thought—well, can’t fault her for that. To my right, the driver had her head down, fixated on her phone.

The next stretch of the road guided us upward, and angled more toward the epic sky, I thought the traffic should stop so that we could get out of our vehicles and savor a vista so beautiful as to be weeping-worthy. Like I said, my reality is at odds with most of the folks I know.

We don’t stop the traffic very often, now do we?

Of course, a painting would not be that sky. A photo, not the experience of that sunset. No more so than a video or a book or a film being the experience itself. I think sometimes we forget that little truism.

Now to invite a little ruckus into my day. I am going to introduce my floors to Mr. Vacuum. Max will be lunging and barking the whole time. And, well you just have to be here.

Yours, faithfully, srk