PBW: Finding Zen

When we last left MCF, he had locked himself out of the house in a startling cliffhanger no one seemed to care about. Undaunted, he resumes his tale as the introduction to this week's

Photo Blog Wednesday

There were two windows open in my house. One opened into my room but was visible to the neighborhood. The other, leading to my parent's room, was in our backyard, concealed behind a rose bush. I made my way around, setting down my the DVDs I intended to return and my digital camera. The casement window was about five feet off the ground but, by grabbing the metal divider and “walking” up the wall, I was able to perch on a ledge about two inches wide. Holding myself up with one hand, I quickly worked at the inner screens, lifting one off its track so I could get my arm between them and unlatch the other. This feat accomplished, I stepped in and down onto a piece of furniture, turning and resealing the window behind me. At this point the cat who lives in that room was nowhere to be seen, likely hiding under the bed. I opened the door and stepped out into the hallway, where the cat who has free reign over the rest of the house was startled to see me, when he was certain he saw me walk out the door not ten minutes prior. With this barely interesting “adventure” behind me, I grabbed the house keys and the keys to my car, and I was on my way.

After dropping off the DVDs, I proceeded down a long country road with no shoulder, past luxurious estates, when a small rabbit ran out into the road. I slowed down to a complete stop. He did the same, just shy of the center divider line. There we sat in the middle of nowhere, he frozen in fear and I frozen in indecision. I could cross the line and drive around him since there was no one else on the road oncoming, but what if he suddenly ran in that direction? I could also go right and over the grass a bit, but he might panic and double back. I inched forward, and still he sat there petrified, his little heart beating and the one eye I could see bulging. I gave my horn a light beep and he didn't move. It was then that I saw another car coming from the other direction. What to do? What if he ran in front of that car and I saw him crushed? I was on a quest to find some beautiful, tranquil images in nature, to alleviate stress before my weekend was over. It seemed that quest was to go in a different, horrible direction, when at last he acted, turning and scampering back the way he came and up a long driveway. I breathed a sigh of relief and started to move forward, just as a large pickup truck came barreling up behind me. Eventually that road ended at a seawall, which I followed to a beach. There I took a few moments to grab some pictures as the sun was setting, wondering what a sunset would look like if I pointed my camera directly at it. I found the answer, as well as the peaceful interlude I sought that day.