When I got up this morning, the day was bright and shiny. The sky was cloudless, the weather was mild, and after a bit of ritual morning tooling around on the 'Net, I decided it was high time to go out for an aimless walk, since this was the first bit of really inviting weather we've had around here for quite some time.
For about the first half of the journey, things were about as perfect as you could ask for, as far as picturesque spring days are concerned. As a matter of fact, the daylight was so bright as to be almost painful for me as a habitual cave-dweller. In a perfect world, I think I would have gone out bicycling instead of walking, actually, but my bike is still sitting downstairs up on blocks, as it were, waiting for me to perpetrate some still-needed repairs. I could have probably taken that on today, in fact, in preparation for an outing, but I honestly just couldn't be bothered with it right then. I just really wanted to hit the street.
I was, of course, not alone in this. People were out milling around all over town, including a really surprising amount of joggers. Walking past the Art Museum, in fact, I was treated to the sight of quite a few serious runners going up and down the steps,
Rocky-style. In addition to meanderers, though, I guess there were also some St. Patrick's Day shenanigans afoot, because there were roving gangs of young people decked out in green (including beads, face paint, and green Cat-in-the-Hat hats), and they were all obviously ready for some festivities. I tried to steer clear; that's just too much humanity to face all at one time for such a timid reemergence by me into the world.
There are some lovely biking/walking/running paths that basically flank both sides of the Schuylkill River, which slices right through town, so I made that my vague destination with the thought of taking in the scenery a bit. The river itself was actually not as picturesque as you might want. :) Swollen from the recent rains, it had also taken on a thick, brown, murky bent, I guess as a result of all the run-off from the hills and mountains upstream. Rather than the usual urge to dip my toes in to feel the chill rushing past, I felt more like taking care not to get stuck in it and get trapped like a dinosaur in a tar pit. A log went floating past at one point.
Anyway, the sunny springtime stroll eventually took a turn for the worse as the day went almost instantly overcast and windy. I suddenly regretted my earlier enthusiasm for going outside without my customary heavy jacket, and I took the cue to head back home. The walk
felt a lot shorter than it actually was; I was objectively out of the house for a couple hours, but it certainly didn't seem like I soaked up that much sun. Regardless, though, the change in the weather was enough to plant me back at my desk, more or less for the rest of the day. Still...it was, as Larry Miller might say, time well spent. I take it as a good omen for the days and weeks to come...are we out of the winter woods? Is it time to start dusting off the warmer weather clothes? Contrary to my usual position on the matter, I'm actually looking forward to it. I've felt really stifled this winter; it will be nice get out and about again to stretch my legs more often.
I just want to leave off with this little chunk of Philadelphiana. I actually walk quite often down Chestnut Street, as it takes me to the post office, but I rarely cross the Schuylkill across that particular bridge, at least not on foot. I did so today, however, and I noticed that they've patched up a lot of the more jagged cracks and holes in the walkway there with some brand spanking new poured concrete. I also noticed that some jocular passerby couldn't resist leaving his mark...in this case, a drawing of an ejaculating phallus.
( Click here for crude line art )Keep it classy, Philly. Keep it classy.
Hope everyone's enjoying they're weekend. Don't forget to
turn your clocks forward. Peace out, everybody. Smell ya later!
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