“When I’m in turmoil, when I can’t think, when I’m exhausted and afraid and feeling very, very alone, I go for walks. It’s just one of those things I do. I walk and I walk and sooner or later something comes to me, something to make me feel less like jumping off a building.” ― Jim Butcher, Storm Front
Hello again, Dear Reader.
Yes, it’s me again. I said I might be back later when we last saw each other, didn’t I?
Anyway, it’s just a bit after 6:30 PM here in Lithia, Florida, and it’s a hot, humid, and still sunny Sunday evening in the Tampa Bay area. And this time, my friend, I can say it’s hot, humid, and still sunny because I didn’t want to just watch TV, listen to music, read, or play computer games in my room (or any part of the house, for that matter), and I decided to venture outside. So, I did just that: I grabbed a book – Craig L. Symonds’ The Battle of Midway, walked over to the nearby park where I like to sit – under the shade of the trees – and either read or enjoy the solitude of the green area.
As you may know from reading previous A Certain Point of View, Too posts, I used to go for walks in my previous neighborhood back in South Florida. More frequently than I do here, even though the weather in the Miami area isn’t any cooler than it is here. I can’t claim that I did it every day between February of 1978 and April of 2016 – which is how long I lived in East Wind Lake Village – cos of course I didn’t. But I did do it a lot, especially when I had lots on my mind, couldn’t think straight, was tired, fretful, and lonely. When Mom got sick in 2010 and slowly declined both physically and mentally, that meant I walked a lot during those last five years of her life.
“If you seek creative ideas go walking.
Angels whisper to a man when he goes for
a walk.” ― Raymond I. OD Myers
So, yeah. After eating some of the pizza I ordered for dinner, I did, indeed, grab my copy of The Battle of Midway, put on my Star Wars Film Concert Series ballcap, and moseyed on down to the park.
It was still sunny and warm, and if it weren’t for the humidity (47%, but still) I would even say the weather was pleasant. The sun was still above the horizon, but at 5:30 PM (when I left) it was an orange-yellow globe of gas and heat slowly dipping downward. The trees that lined the street cast long shadows, and I saw a pair of egrets sauntering casually down the street as if they owned the neighborhood. There were a few cars out, but I didn’t run into any of the neighbors on my way to and from the park, now was anyone but me at the park itself.
I read an entire chapter of Symonds’s The Battle of Midway – it was about the U.S. carrier force in the Pacific during the lead-up to the eponymous naval engagement that took place between June 4 and 7, 1942. The light levels were good; there weren’t mosquitos around, and, except for the passage of an occasional passing car, it was a tranquil setting for a reading break.
I suppose I could have tried to read another chapter; the sunset isn’t till 8:18 PM, so it wasn’t even close to getting dark. But since it was late spring and it was warm and muggy, I closed The Battle of Midway as soon as I finished the section I’d started when I sat down to read and took the long route back to the house.
“I walked and walked, sometimes with an objective- a friend’s house, a shop, the church or school- but mostly at random, to outrun oppression.” ― Jessica Anderson, Tirra Lirra by the River
Anyway, I’m back in the house, and now I have no clue as to what I want to do next. I already have missed the start of the Memorial Day weekend concert from Washington, DC on PBS – it slipped my mind because I have gotten out of the habit of watching “live” TV. I can’t remember ever watching the Memorial Day Concert here; the last time I remember seeing it was in 2015, less than two months before Mom died. We had always watched it together, and even my half-sister, my nemesis and catalyst for my move to the west coast of Florida, deigned to watch that last concert with Mom and me. (Vicky, of course, talked a lot during the concert; she always did that whenever we watched anything together, even in movies at the theater. This was one of the reasons why Mom and I often went to the movies without Vicky – we both got exasperated by her verbosity at times when it was both unwelcome and unnecessary.)
I could still turn on the family room set and find It on WEDU, Tampa Bay’s PBS station, but I hate starting to watch a program “already in progress.” So, if I watch anything, I can probably watch one of the various concert performances I have on Blu-ray, including 2020’s John Williams: Live in Vienna. Or a movie. Or a TV show. I have many options.
Tomorrow is Memorial Day, but it will be a writing day for me, so I better close this so I can log off and do relax for a while before turning in for the night Besides…I’m still a bit hungry, and I do have some pizza to eat. So, until next time, Dear Reader, stay safe, stay healthy, and I’ll catch you on the sunny side of things.
A Certain Point of View, Too 
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