April 25, 2003 3:06 P.M.

Two of My Favorite Things

Interstate 40, west of Williams, northern Arizona. Taken on road trip of March, 2003.

�Some people are only happy, in retrospect. Twenty years from now, you may look back and realize that this was one of the happiest periods of your life. Why not be happy now?� Dennis Prager

I am not a person who seems to have a great capacity for remembering the details of life. Except for road trips.

I am so �in-to� every moment of a road trip, that I can remember bends in the road, buildings we saw, hills and lakes, �rest stops�, places where we ate�and so on. I am intensely there. I look forward to road trips like a little kid visiting Disneyland for the first time. I don�t think there is anything richer, than discovering all the hills and valleys, forests and streams, cities and farms, - and back roads - of America. I wish I could go �On the Road�, like Charles Kuralt, and write about my adventures.

Maybe someday�

On the other hand, another of my favorite things, is hiding out at home, in my little �retreat� spot.

Okay, so I�m a contradiction! (If I believed in horoscopes, I would explain it away, �What do you expect? I�m a Gemini.�)

There is a place where I can sit in my �grandma swing� and doze, or listen to a book on tape�or meditate and pray. A place where cool breezes blow the mournful sounds of train whistles uphill to surround me with nostalgia. A place where the air is filled with a cacophony of birdsongs, crickets chirping day and night, and the fragrance of orange blossoms. My container garden fills the scene with brilliance, and a cup of coffee sooths my thoughts and warms my soul.

Sometimes raindrops fill the pool with small circles where they fall, and the wind ruffles the surface of the water.

Pull up a chair and relax for a while. Thanks for joining me.

Text � copyright 2003 - 2008 The Homespun Philosopher

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