The Road Traveled

The car bumps along the county road like it knows the way without me; and I look. Look at the creativity and industriousness of the people who live in the houses. They have been very busy, planting trees and flowers and tropical plants, banana trees, hanging ferns on the deck, stacking rocks, placing chairs and gnomes and flamingos in the just right spots. But, sometimes there's a renegade in the neighborhood, or perhaps just a forgotten pile of once useful equipment left to rust and become a gigantic flowerpot for vines and blossoms. Undaunted by lawn mowers, weed eaters and posing as a windshield, engine and front of that once proud workhorse of the farm or junk business.  It makes me laugh.

City Folks and Country Folks

Sitting on the curb drinking my can of soda, I observed. City folks and country folks think they are so different. They are really not. We all gas our cars, buy our groceries, feed our children, and cook our dinners. There are jealous men, and; women who stray from the path of rightousness. Hidden from view, the low branches obscure my prying eyes and ears. I hear a voice. It is a man, he curses loudly into his cell phone. This is the sound of a mistreated man. He advises his conversant that the back of his front will be HIS if he catches him with HER! These things happen in bustling cities and quiet country towns. The sound of jealousy and rage have all the same resonance and resolve. The car's engine reves reflecting his anger. I can see by the plastic covering the passenger window that life is not easy for him, and his voice leaves an impression on my mind. Country or city, life is not always kind.

The Two Chimes in Chatham

The ordinary sounds of the out of doors: birds chirping, breeze blowing, dogs barking, cars passing is interuped briefly by the age old tune of the chiming clock culminating in the sounding of the hours. But, wait, there's another one. It's about one minute slower than the first. My theory is that time lapses in the town of Chatham, a sleepy little place that exsists due to having the distinct honor of being the county seat. I read that it has held that status since 1777. I suppose it would be difficult for a clock to maintain its' integrity for that long. I found myself reliving the moment. How wonderful, I thought, I can relive the exact moment that the clock struck 2! It begs the question: has one clock gained time, or has one clock lost time? As I sit and ponder these moments that pass, I realize that I don't know where these chimes originate. There is Hargrave Military Academy and Chatham Hall School and there are more churches than you would think that a population of only 1,338 persons could support. Having only 2 square miles to call home, the clocks proudly chime hour after half hour reminding us of the passing of time and, yet, can only be heard if one is paying close attention.