Some Musings

While driving in the last few weeks, it became very clear to me that in North America, at least the northern section, we have only two seasons. We have winter, of course, then the rest of the year is construction season.

            Everywhere I went I saw lines of orange cones standing at attention making sure that drivers became frustrated by the delays! It is certain that new road infrastructure and repairs are never static and forever ongoing, but are they properly coordinated? It seems to me that it might not always be the case when you follow the path of one detour only to come to another detour!

            Drivers can only dream of cone-free summer driving one of these days!

            On my outings in the last few weeks, I also found myself studying people whenever I went. One day I saw a man walking his tiny little dog that would easily fit into a purse. To me, somehow, the picture didn’t seem right. Should not large men have large dogs? Behind him was a middle-aged couple walking a dog the size of a horse. No kidding. The furry dog was larger than a Great Dane and wider. I immediately assumed that they have large rooms in their house! 

            The way people dress in summer is always interesting, don’t you think? One day I saw a fellow walking by wearing a warm hoodie, while a woman behind him was essentially wearing a bra with the tiniest of shorts. Someone’s thermostat on the fritz?

            One day I saw a thirty-something woman who caught my attention because of the lovely bird tattoos on the back of her upper arms. As a person who has been doing targeted exercises to keep the back of my upper arms from jiggling and wiggling I wondered how the woman’s birds will look when age and gravity catch up to her, as they surely will. The lovely wings are bound to require some surgery!

            In a restaurant I saw a young couple who were getting a lot of attention because of the baby with them. The child could not have been older than a few weeks, and the parents alternated holding him. It was a hot day and the air conditioning in the restaurant was quite a shock compared to the outside temperature. Would that affect the child? I wondered. Maybe not, but I was reminded that when one of my sons was very young he ended up with pneumonia after a similar outing. I wanted to talk to the young couple, but wisely decided there were enough people around to guide them.

            While enjoying a cold drink in a fast-food place one warm day I saw a lovely young Japanese woman walk in attired in a traditional geisha kimono without the white face makeup but with the traditional hairstyle. Not the kind of garb you see often on a hot summer afternoon (perhaps she was rehearsing a play??) but obviously the need for a cool drink was imperative.

            I was glad to be able to get away from my regular routine for a while. It renews the spirit, but I was not as glad to see that some people are still treating the earth with little respect. When you stroll in a park or on the beach you still see empty soda cans, water bottles and fast food wrappers just tossed on the grass or in the sand even though trash and recycling bins abound nowadays. Obviously not everyone is on board when it comes to keeping our world clean.

            That is indeed a sad state of affairs!