“Ugh!” he groaned as he woke up feeling listless.
After blinking several times to accustom his pupils to the bright sunlight streaming through his bedroom window, he noticed the deep shadow cast by the hanging spider plant on his TV screen which was showing twin baby otters being nursed on YouTube.
He reached for the remote to turn off the TV and hurled himself out of bed to make his early a.m. coffee.
“It’s a beautiful day today!” he convinced himself as more morning sun rays brightened his dining room and kitchen. “I think I’ll go to the park to write a story.”
After filling up an insulated aluminum water bottle with Riesling wine, he put it in his travel bag, along with his laptop; a roll of crackers; sharp cheddar cheese sticks; and a paring knife; and then hopped in his car.
It was late spring and the juvenile leaves of the soy bean and corn were just starting to sprout on the fields flanking his route to the park. He shook his head back and forth, seeing how parched the soil was for lack of rain. Not wanting to dwell any longer on the deleterious effects of global warming, he looked straight ahead and thought of what to do at the park instead. He left the car windows open to take in the fresh air.
Except for a few cars, the park’s parking lot was practically empty. He drove around looking for shaded sections when an oncoming car coasted in front of his. It stopped and the driver didn’t want to budge to allow his car to drive by.
“Move! There’s enough space for both of us!” he yelled under his breath.
The driver kept on motioning something with his index finger. It wasn’t until a few seconds of well-what-now? glaring at the driver when he realized that he was on a one-way parking lot lane. He cupped both hands to apologize and made a quick u-turn with his tail between his legs.
“I’m such a fool!” he muttered as he waved at the driver.
Upon finding a shaded space, he parked and with his travel bag, he started to sit under a nearby tree. However, having no picnic blanket to cushion his butt, he decided to walk a distance to a vacant picnic table.
He took out his laptop; insulated bottle with Riesling wine; a roll of crackers; cheese sticks; and paring knife; and laid them on the table. He unwrapped a cheese stick and with the paring knife, cut it into bite-size portions. The fine pairing of Riesling and cheddar cheese and the palate-cleansing crackers energized him; he heaved a sigh and opened his laptop to start a story.
As he gazed around for inspiration, a couple with a Golden Retriever walked by.
“Hi! Beautiful day, isn’t it?” he greeted.
“Yes, it is!” the couple replied, their double take preceded by the abrupt turning of the dog which panted and wagged on hearing him.
“What’s your dog’s name?”
“Buster!” the woman replied.
“Hi, Buster! How are you?” The dog’s wagging quickened as it approached him.
“We adopted Buster from a shelter,” the man offered.
“Oh, that’s nice of you. Having a good time today?” he asked, eyeing Buster as it rested its head on his knee.
“Yes, and we are on our way home.”
“Thanks for stopping by,” he replied, giving Buster’s face and ears gentle strokes.
He took another sip from the bottle while the threesome disappeared from view.
When he replaced the bottle, he noticed how everything was laid out on the table, prompting him to take a picture with his iPhone. As he tried to rearrange things, his arm tipped the uncapped bottle.
“Splash!” Riesling splattered on his laptop, shirt, shorts, socks, and shoes!
“Oh, shit!” he yelled, the puddle now finding its level as it spread across the keyboard! With nothing to wipe the spill with, he swiped it with his fingers until what was left was a sticky layer.
“I don’t know what to do with you!” he grumbled, chugalugging what was left in the bottle. “That’s what you get for smuggling alcohol into the park!” he continued with an impish smile as he lowered the lid on the what then appeared to be spill-resistant keyboard.
His desire to write a story being all fizzled out, he decided to pack up and go on a nature walk. A light Riesling buzz perked up his stride.
With his AirPods airing the songs on his playlist, he read the Day’s Top Stories on his iPhone. Unhappy about the current events, he switched to playing Candy Crush and Solitaire. He was in the middle of a game when, in an instant, his gaze caught something on the ground.
“Oh, my God! A big pile of fresh horse dung!” he yelled, his white, $10-WalMart tennis shoes almost stepping on it! “These darn horse riders! Couldn’t they take care of horse shit like dog lovers do?”
Slowly realizing that they were not required by law, he continued with his walk, more mindful now of his surroundings. He did not fail to greet walkers coming towards him or passing him. He reached a distant area dense with towering trees, thick bushes, hanging mosses, and a sprinkling of colorful wild flowers. Other than chirping birds, there was no one else around.
“Wouldn’t it be something if a wood nymph showed herself?” he texted a friend.
“I’d go sleep in the bushes and wish for a succubus, if I were you!” his friend texted back with a laughing emoji.
His bladder acting up, he cut short his nature walk to locate the nearest restroom. As he was approaching a fork on the trail, he noticed a long shadow on the ground. It was of him holding a cane, an old broken branch that he picked up along the way. The leaves casting their own, created an intriguing montage. He took selfies to share with friends and then paused to reflect on the black figure on the pale brown sand.
“Hmm…that’s me! Does it capture the real me? Have I found what I’ve been looking for? What else is in store for me? Have I achieved everything at this point in my life? Am I making a difference? Am I living a fulfilling life?”
His soul-searching was cut short when his eye caught a cyclist steering clear of the dung that he passed by earlier. He smiled and hurried on until he found the restroom. He stepped out of it feeling light and pleased to note that the wine-splashes on him had dried up.
On the same route going home, his shoulders swayed to the ostinato rhythm of Ravel’s “Bolero” on his AirPods as his polarized shades revealed the authentic colors of everything within his field of view – horses swishing their pendulous tails; cars obeying traffic rules; cloud puffs floating in the deep blue sky; and the green corn and soybean leaves wafting in the late spring breeze.
“I’ll write about what happened today,” he mused, a smile forming on his face.
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AirPods = wireless Bluetooth earbuds
