Photo: L. Weikel
Mesa Rode Shotgun
I took a ride late this afternoon to enjoy a little bit of alone time with my beloved Tohickon Creek. But I’ll be honest: it wasn’t enough. I’m going to have to go back – and soon. My mesa rode shotgun, though. And I’m pleased to report, as can be seen, she was considerate of others.
Even though it’s easy for me to maintain complete isolation when I go to the creek (primarily because I won’t stop or sit along her banks if there are any human beings in sight), I find I’ve not been to the Tohickon anywhere near as often as usual. I realize it’s not because I’m wary of visiting the creek. It’s because I so rarely get in my car and drive anywhere anymore.
Yes, I can walk there from our house, and I do – occasionally. But my more routine visits were always spontaneous stops on my way to, but more often than not on my way home from, client appointments, errands, and various other excursions.
As a result of the pandemic, I barely drive anywhere anymore.
Refreshment
This was the temperature display at a bank along Route 611 this evening. While I grant that this outdoor thermometer tends to routinely lean toward the high side, I can vouch that my car’s thermometer indicated 90 degrees at that same moment. And as you can see, it was nearly 6:00 p.m. when I took this photo. Earlier in the day, it had been even hotter.
Imagine, then, my gratitude when a mere mile and a half away, I pulled off the road and alongside my favorite place in the world. How could I feel anything other than magically refreshed, allowing myself to drink in the serenity of this place?
Tohickon – Cool Respite – Photo: L. Weikel
Reflection
I’m finding myself contemplative on this eve of our country’s birth. I am marveling at how different this 4th of July weekend feels, for so many reasons, obviously.
Because of the pandemic, we’re not going to be traveling to Connecticut, where we’ve celebrated for decades. That’s a big break from tradition, and I feel wistful recalling the homemade blueberry muffins and Motherpeace readings, to name a few of my favorite memories. (Not to mention Jarts, croquet, lobsters, Wimbledon, and a myriad other treasured experiences.)
On a larger scale – from the personal to the national – it feels like this Independence Day is being viewed through a completely new pair of glasses. Suddenly, we’re seeing who we are as a country with an incredible new clarity that’s both deeply uncomfortable and also truly liberating.
The fact that we’re even discussing our historic oppression and mistreatment of our fellow Americans (including those who called this land home for thousands of years before white people ever stepped onto these shores) is heartening and exciting.
This is our history. It is important to tell the truth, even if it’s ugly and painful. Because that’s where our true freedom rests. In honesty. In gratitude. In forgiveness.
Tohickon – magical reflection; Photo: L. Weikel
(T-511)