one beautiful evening

we went to an ice cream social, and i played scrabble (lost badly). i was having fun though. wife and daughter were ready to leave before the game was over, so i said "you two go on, i'll walk home." it's only four blocks, and from the moment i stepped outside i was thanking God for giving me such a perfect evening.

in the dead of winter, we always look forward to the warm days. but in the spring, after we've had a few overly warm, humid muggy days, i love the petit cold fronts that come through. not cold, just cool. deliciously, luxuriously cool. i call it nature's air conditioning. small towns have it great 'coz the air smells so sweet. a light overcast since mid-afternoon, slight breeze from the north, rain meandering in, but not in any hurry to get here. i was glad to be walking.



still, it didn't take long. in just a few minutes i turned the last corner and the sidewalk stretched out in front of me like a picture. the house on this corner has a low sandstone wall in the front, and a new waist-high board fence around the side yard. past the driveway the pine trees overhung the sidewalk, and the needles looked so fine, sharp and perfect, adorned with cones here and there. the scent of pine was light, and i thought "if i could die and go to heaven, it might be just like this."

when i was midway down the block, i saw at the other end that sugar had come out and was crouched on the sidewalk. she's our outdoors cat, all white, short-haired, loving at one moment and fiesty at the next. i called her name, but not too loud. she didn't seem to hear me, and crossed-eyed as hell, she sure couldn't see me. but she stayed put and when i got closer she recognized me, stood up and came trotting toward me. after rubbing her head a couple times, i picked her in my usual way. she doesn't like feeling like she's being restrained, so i just cradle my left arm under her, and set her down on it. she puts one paw on my shoulder and the other across my chest, nuzzling her head into my neck. sometimes i swear it feels like she trying to hug me. i stood there in front of the house for several minutes, stroking her fur, talking softly to her as if she knew what i was saying.

standing there it was easy to forget all the troubles in the world. somewhere i knew that people were suffering, from earthquakes, typhoons, rockets and bullets. people were killing each other for ideology, for amusement. there's so much wrong in the world, but right then i couldn't be bothered. the grass was the green of new life, my cat was white as pure snow, the air was cool, crisp and clean. if i let myself drift just a little, those were the only things that mattered, and everything would be okay...