After last week’s hike, and the mini life lesson I gave my son and his friend to look up occasionally, rather than always down, I’ve been reminding myself to do the same thing. There were a handful of stars in the dark sky early, early this morning. There’s an American flag perched at the tippy end of the construction crane at the end of the block where my office is. It was windy today, and the flag flapped and flapped. It reminded me of the flag on the lunar surface, which is odd, since that one can’t flap. But I guess my mind went from “flag in the sky” to “flag in outer space.” There’s no accounting for where a mind will go when you let it.
Further down this block, breaking my gaze from the concrete sidewalk occasionally to scan the storefront windows (and, yes, the store with unwearable, unattractive clothes has its current display of gray and undesirable attire), I urged myself to look up even higher. A parking pay station, telephone poles, the top of the building across the street, some trees . . .and then I was rewarded with an unexpected treasure.
Perched atop an unassuming telephone pole sat this little offering, a trick and a treat for any passersby willing to look up. I’m glad I did.