Before the World Wakes

 7/3/26

Friday was one of those rare mornings when I awoke at 6:30 am, and actually felt like getting out of bed.  I quickly went out for a walk, avoiding the direct rays of the rising sun and enjoying a temperature a few degrees cooler than what an hour or so later would yield.  Two doves were just outside our door, roosting on the sprinkler pipes that run along the ceiling of our outside walkway.  They aren't used to me disturbing them at this hour of the day and they flew away from near our door up to the roof of the stairwell that takes one down to ground level.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The angle of the sun makes for good shadows and I played around with photos of my own shadow as I walked.  The light was also good for textures revealed by the almost white and black appearance of the base of a palm tree.

 

 

 

With the inspiration of painting a watercolor version of a red flower I photographed, and the reluctant company of one of our many rabbits along the way, and after a lengthy break from exercise-this early morning outing seemed like a perfect way to start the day.  

 

But Jim made the morning even better.  We went out for breakfast at Waffle House, and ignored our diet plan for at least a few yummy moments.  Now back to behaving!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Because I'm Happy

Today at breakfast in a Waffle House, I saw a man who reached out to me from a framed picture (he is in the left picture hung on the wall in the photo below with the broad smile.)  Probably taken years ago, the picture seems to reveal the earlier years of this establishment.  Do the same or similar pictures grace every location of this restaurant chain as part of a mandated corporate decor?  Was this a staged photo or a moment of delight captured forever?  I prefer his smile to be the latter.

I find myself wondering about him.  Where did he work?  Why is he so happy?  I wish I could sit with him and talk over a cup of coffee in one of the restaurant's booths asking these questions.  I want to share in the moment that created his glorious smile.

Smiling is such an easy thing.  Often when I am walking in a store, through a mall or along a street I smile at people for no particular reason other than to enjoy their surprise which is often followed by a hesitant smile of their own.  This is my minute contribution to the universe as I pass through life.  It is my attempt to create a moment of happiness in another human being's life.  I do this without expectation of a reward.  But in the process, I have found happiness and the song "Because I'm Happy" by Pharrell Williams begins playing in my mind.

It just so happens this song is also the ring tone on my cell phone.