The Old Wise Man

Ever since I moved to Colorado two months back I've made it part of my daily routine to drive to Clement Park, which is only a few miles from my apartment, to get some exercise. The park has a beautiful lake and a 1.4 mile long sidewalk encompassing it which I like to run and roller blade around every morning. This morning I got up earlier than usual at 4:30 and went to the lake. I began running, my feet slapping the pavement, startling geese that flew with a splash into the still water of the lake. A rabbit, it's mouth full of grass, hopped off into the bushes as I breezed by, contemplating the errands I had to run today. About half way around the lake I saw an elderly man sitting quietly on a bench at the edge of the lake. I would've ran right past him without seeing him if he hadn't turned his head upon hearing me. He looked at me for a brief second or so and, realizing that I was just someone out for exercise and not some hoodlum up to no good, he went back to gazing out at the lake. The sight of the elderly man made me pause and I stopped running and planning the days errands. I stood quietly for a long while behind him and, while watching the sunrise I reflected on a poem I once read:


Leisure

What is this life, if full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrel hide their nuts in the grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Stream full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn, at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this is if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.


William Henry Davies


I think the man has a good point...don't you?

Samantha's on her Period Again

I recently moved from New York to Colorado and I rely heavily on my GPS to keep me from getting lost. Samantha is the voice I use in my GPS to tell me when and where to turn and yesterday she was having her period. I say this, because whilst driving into Denver to apply for a job, she kept telling me to turn the wrong way down one-way streets, the first time of which I barely avoided my life ending by a head-on crash with a metro bus. I was instantly reminded of the Terminator movies and wondered if this was one of "Sky Nets" plans to kill off all humans. After scolding Samantha for trying to kill me and swearing at her every time she told me to go the wrong way, I eventually arrived at my destination, which turned out to be a waste of time since the manager told me they are only accepting applications online. On returning to my car I turned Samantha on and programmed her to take me home. She gave me the silent treatment, pretending not to have a signal, leaving me to drive in circles in the less civilized parts of Denver. I apologized to her profusely over and over, promising never to curse at her again and to compliment her more. Eventually, after twenty minutes or so of silence, she forgave me, cheerfully telling me the rights and lefts I needed to take to get home. Most of the time Samantha is good to me, but one week every month when she starts to get moody I have to hook her up to my PC for routine maintenance...and sometimes I even buy her chocolate.