August 08 - Gratitude

This mornings walk along the Snake:

A beaver in a great hurry to get to the river crosses the levee a few yards in front of me.

A lovely girl, wires coming from her ears, jogs past, her blonde pony tail making a spiky crest at the top of her head with every bounce.

At a turn in the river the sun turns the water so silver that I have to stop walking, have to stand and be awed by the sight and sound of liquid silver.

A chance meeting with a friend and her large, new "puppy" Alphonzo ( of some exotic Italian descent) leaping and bounding in big dog happiness.

The subsequent memory of my friend Steve's words early on in his life with ALS. When asked what one could do for him, he offered a litany of ways to enhance one's own gratitude for the ordinary things in life....one example was to savor " a chance meeting with a friend".

This blog was started for and in a way continues, although he passed almost a year ago, for Steve.