Getter Dragun It's another one of those shadowless silver days, and it's well enough along into the spring that the graylight stretches out into the evening past when we're usually used to having dinner. And solstice is still over two months away. I can just imagine living in the far north where the darkness and daylight cycle swings from all day to none in the span between solstice and equinox. When Mary and I were on our honeymoon trip we stayed a couple days on Mackinac Island, courtesy of my most generous cousin- my mom's cousin, actually, but that's another story. Mackinac Island is on Lake Huron in the straits between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. It's between the upper, and lower peninsulas of Michigan. We were there in May, and it was light well past nine at night. I can just imagine how cold and dark it gets up there in December.
Earlier on in the day Mary and I did a low effort walk- we ended up following the city crew down the railroad easement as they cut down the last of the tall grass, and weeds. It's less scenic now than it was a while back. From there we took the long away around, up Beach to Whittier Boulevard, and made a stop for lunch while we were up there. I have been blessed with a very good marriage. Later this month we'll celebrate nine years together. It seems like nine minutes- underwater. (just kidding- I had to use that joke, though) We just get along well. And the things that make it good are simple. Sitting on the couch together having coffee in the morning. Sharing breakfast and dinner. Riding the bikes. Walking. Walking most of all. If I could carry one single memory out of the world to remind me that life is Good, it would be walking with Mary.
We can carry on a conversation along the tracks, but the traffic on the street is too loud. We kept a fairly brisk pace up Beach , crossed Whittier Boulevard and stopped at another one of the minor food treasures in the neighborhood, Cilantro's. We always get their carne asada burrito: grilled steak, beans, rice, cheese in a huge hot flour tortilla. It's a pig out. The other addictive treat they have there is cucumber lemonade. Which is just like what it sounds like: they keep these four or five gallon glass crocks full of the fruit drinks- deep ruby jamaica, milky horchata, and the pale green lemonade with chopped cucumbers. It sounds awful, but it isn't. It's a good candidate for the most refreshing drink of all time, and it is the perfect complement to Mexican food. The stuff would probably make a dangerously tasty margarita.
As I said, the burrito there is a pig out. Fortunately, the place is close to home, so we didn't have far to walk to get back.
And that was the event of the day, on this Good Friday, the tenth of April in the Year of Our Lord, 2009. Another sweet pause in the last days of the world as we know it.
JWM
Another sweet pause in the last days of the world as we know it.
ReplyDeleteAll the more reason, then to savor the sweetness and offer it up in remembrance, to be carried, God-willing, into eternity (so thank you, John, for doing just that).
Even in these silver-solemn days, there is more beauty than we can possibly grasp. To close ourselves off to it might be to miss everything...
This morning, I was heading to the airport to pick up DH. The clouds to the east were unusual - a layer of cumulus light from below by the rising sun, and underneath them were sinuous wisps of vertical shadow, like a flight of lonely souls trying to make their way toward heaven. It was so beautiful, and somehow a little heartbreaking - but then, true beauty often is. I guess it helps in letting the light in.
Thanks, Julie. I love a good cloudscape. That's one thing that actually pretty rare here. Of couse, we get days with good clouds, but here on the coastal plane most storms come through in big sweeps from the ocean. They're not generated from colliding air masses like inland storms. The desert gets really dramatic. And heading out to pick up the spouse is always good. :)
ReplyDeleteJohn M
Happy Easter, John, to you and your family!
ReplyDelete"If I could carry one single memory out of the world to remind me that life is Good, it would be walking with Mary."
That is so beautiful, my friend. Thanks! :^)