I take four outings today and see many spectacular sights

Outing #1: I Face the Morning

Mornings are difficult for me. There are two ways that I can tolerate them - I can fix myself some oatmeal and eat it in silence with a cup of coffee and a banana. Silence. No TV. The sounds of a TV are virtually intolerable to me in the morning. So if I can get my breakfast ready and take a seat on the couch where I can look through the window into the small patch of woods that is our backyard before anyone else comes in and sits down, I am fine.

In this quiet, I find a certain peace and my mind comes to terms with the fact that it has another day that it must cope with.

But I am the only one in the house who feels that way concerning TV and breakfast. If anyone is already out there when I come staggering out, I am lost, because the TV is on. I do not feel like imposing my will on anyone, so I just bear it. It isn't easy, but I'm a tough and compassionate man.

Today, I got up and all was silent. Jacob, Lavina and Kalib had already left for Anchorage, Margie was asleep and Caleb had not yet returned home from his all-night shift. So I thought maybe I would have oatmeal in quiet and peace. But then, as I was getting dressed, I heard Caleb's car pull into the driveway and I knew the TV was about to come on.

I punched the auto-start to the Escape so that it could begin to warm up.

I still await that check that I wrote about last week and so severely lack cash, but I do have a credit card. So I headed over to Family Restaurant. That's the other way that I can tolerate the morning - if I can sit in a restaurant and be served a good breakfast.

There is no TV at Family although there is noise there, but it is the indistinct sounds of conversations taking place between people who I do not know, usually with only a word or two, perhaps a phrase, that actually reaches my ears at a volume loud enough to pierce through my own thoughts. Of course, it is backed up by the chimes of plates banging against each other, and being tapped by knives and forks. So I can just sit there and let my mind come to terms.

So here I am, at Family, where I ordered a Denver Omelette, hash browns and wheat toast with jam, plus coffee. 

When I came in, they tried to sit me against the wall 90 degrees to where I actually sat, but I wanted to be by this window, just in case the train came by. 

I did not see a train, but I did see the reflections of people inside the restaurant as I looked outside, at a blue Ford Escape and the Chugach Mountains.

As anybody who reads this blog knows, I love my G10 pocket camera despite its many deficiencies when compared to my DSLR's. I can carry it in my pocket, that's why. But sometimes those deficiencies cost me the picture. This is what happened here. I looked out the window and saw this elderly couple embrace, kiss - and hold the kiss - just like newly-weds on their honeymoon, or smitten teenagers who will who soon be surprised to have a baby come along. I don't believe there was any danger of that, in this case.

But, if they wanted to try, what the heck - go for it, I say!

I quickly raised the camera, got the scene framed just right and pushed the shutter button. Nothing happened. NOTHING! I kept pushing. Too late, it shot - but did not focus first! I don't know why. Sometimes, it responds quickly and accurately. Sometimes, it doesn't.

Oh well. The couple got to enjoy a good kiss and that is what really matters.

And I have told you about it and offered you blurry evidence that, indeed, it did happen, so let that knowledge bring hope and courage to your heart and soul.

Some would criticize me for posting this, just as they would that polar bear that I missed last week. They would say, "If you missed the picture, you missed it. Don't post a crummy picture."

But I don't just take pictures. I write, too. Now, I write about missing the picture.

Outing #2: A Bike Ride in the Wind and Snow

Here I am, pedaling my bike down Church Road. Even though I was going downhill, I had to work to pedal, due to the wind. And then I began to hear the sound of precipitation hitting my jacket. I felt the sting of it as it struck my face. Yet, I could not see it. It looked just like it would have looked if it hadn't precipitated at all.

I wondered if it was rain or snow. Snow, I figured, tiny flakes, heavy with ice. I reasoned this due to the volume of the noise and the sharpness of the stings upon my face.

Sure enough, finally, I was able to spot out a few of the larger flakes.

This invisible blizzard lasted for about three minutes, maybe four.

I didn't time it.

Outing # 3: I Get Margie Out of the House

Having used the credit card at breakfast, I had no justification whatsoever to use it again at lunch. But I saw Margie sitting on the couch, her crutches beside her, and I knew that was where she was going to be all day and I could not bear the thought of it.

So I asked her if she wanted to get out of the house for a bit. "We can stop at the post office and see if the check is there," I encouraged.

"Yes," she said. "I would like to get out."

The check was not there.

I left the choice of dining to her. She chose KFC.

As we waited in the drive-through line, this is what we saw. In some ways, it is getting annoying that everytime I go to a cash register, be it in the grocery store, the fast-food line, or whatever, I am asked to donate to something.

Yet, you look at this and you think, surely, if I can donate one dollar and feed four hungry children, then I should. You also wonder what will actually happen to that dollar.

As it happened, by the time we got to the window, I had forgotten about the sign. And the lady at the cash register didn't ask, the way they usually do, so I did not donate.

Now I have to worry about those four children who will not be fed because of me.

On the way home, we saw a caravan of school buses coming down the hill.

And more buses behind them!

And even more! Some people have the idea that Wasilla is a boring place to live, but, I tell you, there is always something exciting happening here.

Outing #4: Coffee Break at the Metro Cafe

Certainly, having been out three times already, I did not need to go out again - except for this: I always take a coffee break at 4:00 o'clock so that I can sit in the car, sip coffee and listen to at least a little bit of NPR's All Things Considered on KSKA.

I justify this by the fact that I tend to spend the rest of the day, usually until about 2:00 AM, sitting at my desk in my office, struggling to get some kind of work done.

So, as I waited in line, I saw this lady in my outside rear view mirror. As the wind ruffled her skirt, she smiled at someone who I could not see.

It was the driver of this car who she had smiled at.

She got in and then they drove away. Carmen, the owner of Metro Cafe, told me that they were real nice people.

Comments

[WhiteStone]

Loved the photo of the older couple (Oh, dear, do I say "old couple", "older", or "senior". Things these days have to be so pc) lol

[Bill Fan]

I agree with the first comment. I looked at the photo of the couple prior to reading your commentary about it and thought these people really love each other. It is such a sweet moment and I think this is the photo you were really meant to get.

BTW, I absolutely LOVE your site. You are a person who stops and smells the roses. We all should take more time noticing and appreciating the little things around us.

[debby]

I loved the picture of the elderly couple. (I don't know if that's considered politically correct. Don't much care, either. Know why? Because it's my goal to be an elderly person. Furthermore, when I am an old lady, I will still be glad to see my husband. We may even kiss in public.

I also identifiy with the morning thing. I cannot take a lot of chaos in the morning. I like to sit w/ my two cups of coffee, one right after the other, read on the computer, wake up slowly. After an hour, I begin to feel human. My sister lived with us for a while. Like me, she talks. Unlike me, she falls out of bed in the morning talking. It drove me nuts. I, too, tried to be gracious. I discovered that I am not all that gracious. I finally had to ask her for a hour of quiet time to start my day. I am proud to say that I was fairly gracious about it.