Vineyard Walks

Is there anything better for children than being outside, off of the pavement, and away from all forms of electronics? Is there anything better for adults? Is there anything better than dirty hands and dirty feet that have been made that way by several hours of willing contact with the soil? Is there anything better than absorbing the sights, sounds, and scents in the mountains, at the beach, or beside a river or lake? City parks, paths, earth or grass beneath the feet — how, and where better, to reestablish our sanity, or perhaps even discover it for the first time? Many a time, I found mine on walks down a long vineyard row. And oh, how it ran ahead, laughing. I lost it an equal number of times, but that, perhaps, is not unusual. Besides, why would I want to upset the natural balance of things?

[ 1965 ]