Wednesday, January 4th 2012

For some reason my mile walk around the pond at 6:30 am was …better.   I can’t really think of one word to describe how I felt today.

I had to bundle up by wearing my sweats and a “winter” jacket.  The air was crisp but unlike yesterday there were no gusts of wind  to chill you so much that you didn’t work up a small sweat.

It was still dark out, but there are lights on the buildings so you are not totally in the dark.  This morning I took along the Ipod that Kelly had given me.  I decided to listen to some John Denver.  It was the right choice.

When I get half way around the pond I am facing East.  Slight light was beginning to show me the shadows of the palm trees and the smallest amount of orange color was touching the sky.  And then .. while John sang “Country Roads”, it appeared to me…  a meteor !  I thought I had missed all of it even though I stepped outside at 5 am I saw none… but now, as I listened to John the meteor flew by and disappeared into the orange tinge that was becoming dawn.

It was a perfect sight to see.

Then as I made my third round and the sky was brightening just a touch more (I wouldn’t exactly call it daylight yet) the ducks began to come.   They were but shadows in the sky, bobbing and weaving and it seemed as if they were coming in for a crash landing, they moved so fast.  But “touchdown” was always without incident.  First only one or two and then four or more all zigzagging between one another.

As I came towards my apartment for the 5th and final round I heard the train horn off in the distance.  It sounded as if it was coming closer and closer and then it began to sound farther and farther away, until it faded into obscurity.

All the while John Denver sang of the beauty most of us miss on a daily basis. I shed a tear or two… I truly miss John Denver.  Maybe that wasn’t a meteor I saw while he sang… maybe it was John .