Thoughts from the Concrete Trail

Blue skies, cooler temperatures, Spring around the corner, and I grind away at my beautiful desk with no windows. There is this weird sound that Michelle and I are haunted by periodically each day but the busyness of the tasks and the thought of what is beyond helps to block it out. So, does a good set of headphones. Of course, I am sitting at my home desk pounding on the keys, pondering the next post while I jam to Lindsey Stirling on my SMS headphones. The next post could have easily been about the next player I was going to highlight, but those take a lot of thought, consideration, and time to construct. Tonight, it’s good music, some simplistic thoughts, and typical ramblings out of the cranium that is mine.

It is funny what happens throughout a day. Not just mine, but everyone’s. Do you ever notice it? I know we are all wrapped up in our own little world, however, take a deep breath, look left and right, open your ears, and you will be amazed what is happening around you. People are amazing. Actions, gestures, feelings, events, and conversations can be smorgasbords of entertainment, or even better, a slight distraction from your demanding work or day’s trials. Watching people is something I thoroughly enjoy. Studying them, analyzing their thoughts, really diving in to what they are saying, and observing behaviors is just entertaining to me. It is a tad bit weird, maybe a little bit creepy, but there is so much to learn from what I see. Sometimes, I am my own best study. There are some stupid things I do throughout the day. If you can laugh at yourself, it will be okay.

Today, I went out for my little run and it is usually lonely on the sidewalk. The streets, however, are packed with parents taking their kids to the best elementary school in Polk County, adults heading to work, or college students hurriedly trying to get to the college campus. I am sure the health benefits I gain from my jog are just a bit lessened by the toxins of the many beautiful cars and trucks that pass by. While I was pounding out the run today, when I use the word pound it is because I don’t jog like a gazelle, it is more like a circus elephant running around the big top, I really focus on the drivers coming towards me. One reason is because I like cars and I like to see what’s on the road, but the other reason is because I want to make sure I can dive off the road when I notice they aren’t looking at the road, but instead their damn phones. For God sakes, talk to your kids or something. Nonetheless, I jog always looking a bit to the right. Today was no different. Cruising down the sidewalk I noticed a new Jaguar SUV, a sexy looking vehicle, my favorite Toyota pickup, it goes by every day and it is just beautiful, a bad ass new Camaro with a throaty V-8, and many others that were nice but become a blur as the minutes continue to pass.

So, as I am slogging towards half-way, I see this new Tacoma towards me. I am like, “Hey, I know that guy,” so I throw up a wave as he passes. He goes by and I notice there is a kid in the front seat. I think, “I don’t remember him having a kid.” Oh well, I know it was him and he politely waves back. Fast forward a few minutes and he passes by going the opposite direction and it hits me; oops, it wasn’t the guy I know because the stickers that are on his back window aren’t on this particular truck. This happens more often than I like to admit. I wave at a lot of cars. Mostly, it is when they are polite and scoot a few feet over to acknowledge that they see you struggling to continue forward momentum. It is truly astonishing at how many don’t move over at all. The one’s who give a bit get a wave, a nod, or a smile. Who knows if they even see it or care but hey, at least I am trying.

This is just one event during a normal work day. There are so many things I notice throughout the day that tickle me, make me say “Huh”, or just make me wonder what in the hell is going on in that person’s life that made them so pissy. Just sitting here jamming to some different music, scrolling text I keep getting from my dad while he is enjoying a concert at the Ritz, and watching my wife diligently work towards my future while I play writer at my desk, makes me realize how exciting each day is if you really get into instead of letting it pass hour by hour. I am going to end this now as the last post was about 1400 words more and I just don’t have it in me tonight to get that deep. As Chris Stapleton says at the end of “Sometimes I Cry”, he simply says “There you go, thanks for coming out tonight.”

Photo by Zac Sturgeon on Unsplash
Photo by rawpixel.com on Unsplash