Is it odd to anyone else that I know how many steps in takes to get to the church down the road and back? It takes exactly 1,762 steps – I counted. That’s scary to even me and I’m the one who’s doing it! Now that’s scary… not like, “Ah! That’s scary!” but more like “Whoa, that’s scary.” you know? Well anyway, it is the perfect walk I’ve decided. I walk out my back gate and walk on the shaded sidewalk past many fences, until I reach the sweet and serene, usually deserted church. The parking lot normally has a bus parked in it, but other than that it’s completely empty. The strange thing is, there’s always people in the office buildings attached. No cars… people… strange. There’s a ball field at the back of the church, and my favorite thing to do is walk down the usually muddy and grassy slope till you reach three sequential benches. There’s one I always sit on, and ironically, it’s the only one that’s broken! The best thing to do is to sit there for a little while in deep thought, maybe do a little mental-writing (“the need to write when there is no paper around”). When my breath is caught, and my legs aren’t tired anymore, I walk a little further down towards the dugout, and walk quietly, meaningfully through (memories, there’s nothing like them), and then walk up each set of bleachers, and of course, slide down the railing of all of them – it’s a lot of fun. Then I amble slowly back to the sidewalk, and start back. In all it’s about a 23 minute walk, not counting the down time. When the sun sets just behind the ball field, a warm breeze is softening the crisp, cold air around, the birds are singing quietly, and few cars are passing on the street behind, it’s like a little taste of heaven. It really is beautiful, which is why I like to go so often. I’d spend all my time there if I didn’t have to work and maintain my house. Oddly enough I’ve never eaten a meal there, as many times as I’ve walked there during lunch hour. Perhaps today I will.
M.fs
