The Walk

The car's speedometer was wonky again yesterday.  No matter how fast, or how slow I drove home from my mother's, it stayed stubbornly at 20 mph, even when I was stopped.  I noticed it also was not recording the miles driven. So Walt decided, with a heavy sigh, that it was time to take it in to be checked out.  He warned "this may finally be the end for this car."  How could that be?   We don't even have 300,000 miles on it, though we are close!

Anyway, he figured it may have to be in the shop for two days.   I had a date with my friend Ruth for lunch today, but I assured him I could get there by bus so he could get the car in.  And I did.  I rode downtown on the bus and walked 2 bocks to Panera to meet her (2 days of Paneras, in 2 cities.  It's too much happiness.)

We had a nice lunch and chatted about lots of stuff and when it was over, I walked to the bus stop and wait for the bus home.

But it was really a lovely day and one thing I've been wanting to do was to go to the Senior Center to pick up my bus pass (so I can ride the city bus for free, as an old person), so I decided that I had all the time in the world, I would walk home.  It's only 1-1/2 miles, for heaven's sake.  And I could take pictures along the way.  So I set off on foot, headed for the Senior Center.

First I walked through the parking lot of the Susan B. Anthony Administration Center and stopped to look at their mosaic, which I've seen often, but never really looked at.

I'm wondering what they were smoking when they created this map of the world...or maybe it was made by kids (more likely).  Definitely a weird world map.

Across the street some swimmers were practicing at the pool next to City Hall (City Hall used to be the old high school--before we moved to Davis).  I peeked through a knot hole in the wooden fence to check out the scene.

I cut across the city hall parking lot, walking along the baseball field and through the garden where 50 Peace Roses were planted on the 50th anniversary of the signing of the U.N. Charter.  Sadly, the peace roses look in as good shape today as peace in the world does!

(Of course when the growing season begins, the roses will bloom.   Too bad I can't say the same for world peace!)

I stopped at a picnic table to take the opportunity to make a call to a friend who had called me earier in the day.

But she was busy and said she'd call back, so I continued on to the Senior Center

where I picked up my bus pass and also a catalogue for OLII classes here in Davis.  As I left the Senior Center, I was entering the neighborhoods, where there were no handy benches to sit on if I felt like I wanted to rest.  Things were OK for awhile, but then the enjoyment of the walk began to fade, though I did enjoy seeing the signs of spring along the way.

It seems to be too early, in January, to be seeing these spring flowers, though I say that every year and every January they pop up again, just like clockwork.  Don't know if I can say the same thing for my favorite tree in Davis.

I hope this weeping willow is just dormant for winter, but it has been looking sicker and sicker each year.  Once it was so lush and green.  I worry that some day I am going to drive by this corner and find it has been cut down.   I will be very sad on that day!

I was really hoping for some sort of a seat...any sort of seat...to take a brief rest, but there was nothing.  However, it had been garbage day and all along the street were garbage cans waiting being taken off the street when their owners came home.  I stopped to lean on several of them.

My legs and feet started hurting and I started to have a coughing fit, which made me fearful that I was going to urinate, so far from home.   Fortunately, I had just purchased some cough lozenges (sugar-free, of course!) and took one, which helped.  But as I walked on I felt as if I had a cramp in my toes, and a fly on my nose, fluff in my lung and a feverish tongue and a thirst that was intense and a general sense that I was no longer walking in clover.

But the darkness passed when I saw this sign at last

At this intersection was this lovely planter box

and I sank gratefully onto it and sat there for a bit.  I don't know what I must have looked like but a girl riding by on her bike asked if I was all right.  I waved her on and got up to finish my walk.

I wasn't far from home now and finally trudged up the driveway and into the nearest recliner. I was glad I had taken the walk, but I was definitely glad to be home.  Walt was impressed.

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(apologies to W.S. Gilbert for the bastardization of "The Nightmare Song" from Iolanthe, my veryfavorite patter song)