March 23 – “The Tune Zone Questions”

Have you ever had one of those days where you get a song stuck in your head?  I had that yesterday morning during my walk.  Three miles of the same tune over and over, with the squeak of my shoes providing the percussion accompaniment.  I tried to change it to something else, but as I zoned out into the world of walking, there it was again.  The zoning and tuning almost led me to get hit by a car at one point.  A lady was backing out of her driveway and neither of us saw the other.  It was totally my bad, too.  I was in the Tune Zone and never even looked up to see what was in front of me.  The poor lady rolled down her window and apologized profusely.  I assured her that it was my fault, but I don’t think it did any good.  At least now she has a story to tell about the old guy she almost hit on her way to work. 

 

That was almost as good as the lady I passed who was getting ready to do some kind of construction industry related work.  She had two long broomstick-looking things in one hand and was pulling some kind of machine behind her.  I smiled and waved.  She struggled to wave back with her hands full and almost lost control of the machine.  I assured her that I didn’t require a return wave.  I was just being neighborly.  At that she stopped completely, let go of the handle of the machine, and vigorously waved a return hello.  That led to a few minutes of chatting where she said I was an inspiration to her, because she sees me walking a lot, and she knows she needs to walk as well.  Gee, an inspiration because I walk.  Must be the Old Guy’s Badge of Honor. 

 

Later in the morning Nathan brought over some palm branches for me to use for Palm Sunday.  Many of the palm trees on the island didn’t survive the freeze, so it was helpful to get some that weren’t all brown and dried out.  I spent the rest of the afternoon making palm crosses and palm fronds to use on Sunday.  I know they will be dried out by then, but you make do with what you have, when you have it.

 

Oh, I forgot to ask the second half of the question about the song in my head.  First was: Has that ever happened to you?  The rest of the question is this: How come now I can’t even remember the name of the song that I couldn’t get rid of just yesterday?  Ah, well.  A question to ponder another day …

 

Psalms 18:2 says, “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”

 

Father, thank you for the neighbors I get to meet – albeit in unusual ways.  Bless them as they go about their day.  Amen.