I am tired of paying nearly $3 a gallon for gas so I have gotten toughened up to walking long distances. I walk to work, the hospital is 3 miles away; it takes 45 min. Tough shit if the hospital is in a rough neighborhood, riven w/ gangs and drug dealers. If I don't bother them, the odds are low of them bothering me.
The same is true with seeing my kids. They live about 6 miles away so it takes about an 1 1/2 hours to get there. When I walked home to my apartment something kind of special happened. To get from the kids' place to my place I go through a forest preserve (so named because it has bike paths and is patrolled by the Cook County Forest Preserve Police, among other reasons). It was such a beautiful night out and the temperature was perfect. The coolness killed off all those damn insects yet it was warm enough so that you didn't have to worry about your hands or feet getting cold. All I had to do was follow the yellow line of the bike path and I had no problem whatsoever in finding my way home. I saw white-tailed deer that would get close enough to try and figure out who I was, then run off as I walked next to them on the trail. It was fun trying to guess what the strange noises were.
I couldn't help but think how much more fun it would be to have a girlfriend, two sleeping bags and just being "one with nature". It was a great night to be outdoors! There was a slight bit of apprehension because I was actually breaking the rules. The Forest Preserve rules are that no one is supposed to be in the forest after sundown. (It was 8 pm) I couldn't imagine them throwing me in jail for walking home, minding my own business. Just as I was less than a 1/4 mile away from leaving the Forest Preserve, there was this white light shining on my back. "Oh shit," I thought, "The Forest Preserve cops". So here's how the conversation went after I turned around and saw this biker with a light beam coming from his helmet.
"Uh-oh!", he exclaimed
"I'm just about ready to leave at the next exit," I explained.
"That's cool; I'm just biking", he said.
"Oh, I thought you were a Forest Preserve cop"
"No, we just scared each other"
Before I could explain that I wasn't really scared just hoping that he wasn't a cop, he was too far away as he biked past me.
Yes, that was a lame conversation, and this post probably would have been a better read if I would have explained how I got thrown in jail and had the displeasure of sharing a jail cell with someone caught for sodomy.
But I'm glad none of that happened and I am happy to have such a nice, sweet, peaceful time at the Forest Preserve with the deer. Maybe months from now, I'll meet the right woman and we can have a nice time in some sleeping bags. That would be a great way to break the law.
3 comments:
Vince...you should totally do the survey!!! And do it in the exact same format!!! Awesome! I can't wait to read what will come out of your head.
Thanks for your comment. Your family looks like they all love each other and your kids are adorable. I hope you find someone great to marry and sleep out under the stars with. I haven't written a blog lately because of three reasons: I don't think many people take the time to read, I am unsure of the quality of my writing, and the times I really feel like writing is when I am at my lowest (and that would be one depressing blog to read!). I love to read people's responses to my entries because they help me to see life in all kinds of new ways. Yes, I'm still feeling sad about my husband's dwindled testimony, but when I pray I feel like I need to be patient. So, I think things will work out in the end. But I want to hear what you have to say about it.
It is so awesome that you are dedicated enough to your kids to walk 6 miles both ways just to see them. Why don't you get a bike? Time is money and you would definitely save a lot of time by biking places instead of walking.
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