When:  Sunday–Mid-morning- 3/25/2018

Weather: Mid-70’s, Very humid, Slight breeze

When you go to Saturday evening church service, it opens up some possibilities.  I exercised one of those possibilities this morning.  I took my walk when the family would have usually been in the regular church service.  I  seemed to be out of sync with the other walkers.  If the other walkers normally take a Sunday morning walk, I just wasn’t quite on their schedule.  All walkers I encounters were “intersections” rather than fellow pedestrians I could attempt to pass.  The bicyclist I encountered came from all directions.  They seemed more somber or more reflective than the Saturday morning crowd.  Those determined to go maximize the speed on the less crowded sidewalk were reluctant to acknowledge me.  Those who were of the “Sunday rider” variety were willing to warn me as they came up behind me and prepared to pass.  Those who came from the front were willing to give a head nod or a raised hand as we intersected.

The only other observation was how cars handle walkers on the road.  When the upcoming car is the only car on the road, they usually are pretty good at giving a walker a reasonable amount of space.  When cars are on both sides of the road, the side of the road with the walk might consider slowing down to make sure the walker is not put in an unsafe position.  Today, the upcoming car seemed to have believed the thin strip of grass I had available was more than adequate to guarantee my safety.  I decided to stop on the grass and just wait for the car to pass.  As I began walking again, I was about to utter some sanitized curse for the unconcerned driver.  Before the curse came out, I smelled one of my favorite smells–lilacs.  My eyes scanned the landscape ahead and behind me until I found the plant.  I walked this same path yesterday and the lilacs were not blooming yet. As they were now blooming, all thoughts of inconsiderate drivers went to the bottom of the list of priorities.  I breathed deeply.  I stored as much olfactory pleasure as I could handle.  I completed the walk and anticipated the next breeze laden with lilac scent.