Praise God, Little Birdie!

So there's a new pope.  And he's chosen the name of Francis, presumably in homage of the widely renowned saint.  I, personally, like the sound of that...because St. Francis was a walker.  He could've easily had a blog about walking, and it would've been a much more interesting read than this one.  For example, he was known to stop a walk (making his fellow walkers wait) and give sermonettes to birds.  He would ask the birds to listen & would say things, like "Birds, you should praise your Creator very much...love Him...He gave you feathers to clothe you, wings to fly...made you noble among his creatures...gave you a home in the glorious sky...He protects you, etc."  So if you're ever shopping for a bird bath & see St. Francis chiseled into it—that's why.

With that in mind, my walk-to-work goal this morning was to "preach" to every bird I saw, St. Francis-style.   I never stopped like he did.  Preached on the move.  And my sermon was much briefer.  I kept it simpler than St. Simplicity himself.  "Praise God!" was my message.  Occasionally, I added "...little birdie."  About 15 sermons total.  I never shouted out loud in hopes that the birds might actually hear me.  Didn't use my "preacher voice."  I did say the words aloud, though.  The audience was anything but captive.  All but a few of the birds were in flight at the time.   One thing I realized was how seldom I look upward when I walk—and up is where most of the birds were.  So I got a little disoriented a time or two. 

The closest I got to the birds was about 4 feet.  There were 3 robins in the library's patio area, hanging out behind a wall...so they didn't see me coming.  They took off as soon as I turned the corner, but not before a quick sermon, "Praise God, birds!"  How on earth did Francis get an audience?  There must be a bit of exaggeration in that story somewhere.

Yunno, I rarely ask readers to try something that I've tried on my walks...but I'm going to this time.  I can't explain the feeling I experienced asking God's creatures to praise Him.  It was surprisingly uplifting.  It reminded me of the 2nd to last Psalm in our Bibles—with this exhortation: "Praise the Lord from the earth...wild animals and all cattle, creatures that crawl and flying birds." (Psalm 148:7-10).  So try it.  It's not just Franciscan, it's Biblical!  

P.S.  Picked up a clear, plastic cup from the lawn near the art bldg.  It had frozen liquid in it that looked like a lot like beer. 

P.P.S.  My dream is to one day see a pope preaching to the birds.  

Stop 'n Go? No!

There was a line of 8 waiting cars at the Main St. stoplight this morning.  As I scooted on by (unapologetically) without pause, I reminisced about my daily commute in Austin—straight through downtown.  Light after light after light after... (you get the idea).  I guess I'm making up for it now.  Done my share of starting & stopping on the way to work.  Nowadays, I have one start & one stop (i.e., house & library).

There are exceptions.  I stopped for two seconds this morning to take a picture of a city utility guy letting water out of a fire hydrant.  It was spraying across the street for no apparent reason (see pic above).  There weren't even kids running through it!  I know we've had tons of rain lately, but do we have to flaunt it by playing hydrant spray games?

P.S.  Waited 'til the bitter end of my walk to de-litter.  Was being lazy up to that point.  I finally picked up a clear drinking straw from behind the library.

P.P.S.  Got the best honk ever from a passerby!  Kinda like a honk song.  Thank you J.B. & kids!

In Memory (Again)

On my mind this morning was (still) my beloved boss who passed away on Sunday.  I tried a bit of homage yesterday & decided to do it again today.  She was a speedy lady, especially when she walked.  I traveled with her on several occasions & remember trying to keep up with her in an airport.  Not easy.  I still don't know what the rush was, but she definitely didn't like wasting time getting anywhere.  This morning I basically tried to walk to work the way she would.  It felt weird to be hustling so much...but at least no one drove by & yelled, "Hey, buddy!  Where's the fire?!"

I pushed myself from the get go.  No strolling allowed.   No noticing stuff allowed.   Full speed ahead.  I had to remind myself a couple of times to not let up.  A little over half way I was getting short of breath, but I didn't let up.  Hit a hill, but kept my head down & legs pumping.  I was in such a zone that I almost didn't stop when I saw some gotta-pick-up trash.  It was a Minute Maid bottle at the top of some steps in front of Old Main.  Right there...in full view of all passersby.  I had to stop!  I broke my beautiful rhythm & grabbed it.  My boss would've done the same thing.

My fast-paced memorial was good & bad.  The bad?  I was a bit stressed out, trying to keep up the pace.  And I couldn't notice anything along the way or contemplate life or anything but speed walking.  The good?  I shaved almost a full minute off my last official time record (9:32.2 on Feb. 26, 2010)!

In Memory...

The sweet woman who brought me to FHU 11 years ago died at her home yesterday after a long fight with cancer.  She was all I could think about on this morning's walk.  Rumor has it that she used to jog in her neighborhood, carrying a trash bag.  When she saw litter (which was seemingly everywhere she turned), she'd stop & pick it up.  Couldn't leave well enough alone.  Bless her.  In her memory today, I carried my own trash bag (a Wal-Mart bag) & decided to snag every piece of litter I encountered.  The haul included a piece of styrofoam, a church bulletin, and a zipper.  Thank you, Hope, for not being too proud to run through our town, looking like a bag lady.      

Taking Notice, Part V

Wrapping up the week devoted to noticing things.  And with Spring in the air, I thought of colors.  Not the man-made ones, but God-made.  One of my family's earliest & fondest memories of Henderson (right in the middle of our homesickness for Austin) was color-related.  The Spring colors in our neighborhood were unlike any we'd experienced in Texas.  Azaleas were largely to blame.  Bloomin' bushes were in seemingly every yard. 

On the walk, I barely noticed signs of those coming colors.  One of the first houses I passed had two large bushes with the tiniest pinkish-red blooms.  Saw at least one more like it before reaching campus.  One other bush had yellow blooms—tiny enough to not be noticed (I don't think) by drivers.  Flowers were also in short supply.  Two yards had yellow flowers (common variety, with a name most people would know, but not me).  Oh, and there was of course some green out there.  Like the smell of fresh air, it's easy to overlook green.  Most lawns had at least some.  All in all, this is definitely an experiment worth revisiting...in about a month.

Along the way I got the chance to say something to one of the city's recycling guys.  As usual, they came by our house before I left.  But I caught up to them later as they stopped to get someone else's stuff.  It's a fairly thankless job, I imagine.  But not today.  Thanks to being on foot, and thanks to walking within a few feet of the guy, I got to say, "Thanks!" 

Noticing notes:  Scary Dog, Missing Ms. Raker, Scary Weather, Wind, Fresh Air, Green

P.S.  Found a McD's double cheeseburger wrapper near the library side door.  It looked like it'd been mauled a bit by some animal.  Thankfully, I only had to carry it for about 15 seconds.  Washed my hands for at least 30!