King of the Dull Boys

There was a little rain yesterday, and some again last night. At six this morning I swept the driveway. Then I swept the sidewalk, which was covered with a nice accumulation of fine needle growth from the juniper. The sidewalk, being mostly shaded most of the time, is quite mossy. It’s also in fairly rough shape, with pits and divots where stones have worked their way free from the concrete. In my opinion, this makes it one of the more interesting stretches of sidewalk in the neighborhood. Walkers who care to notice, are treated to a beautiful border of cedar, pine, maple, juniper, Japanese barberry, and lilac. If they don’t notice, it’s still good for them. The sidewalk is rough, but I can still walk it comfortably on my bare feet; so I know that anyone wearing shoes, though they miss out on the moss massaging their soles, can have no trouble. Kids on skateboards, mothers and fathers with babies in strollers, old men with walkers and canes — no one stumbles, no one curses, no one complains. They move along slowly, part of a dream. And I am king of the dull boys, picking up pine cones and watering our pots. And this is my dustpan. And these are my thoughts.

June 12, 2021

[ 1132 ]