Just About Town

Took a little drive about town yesterday to capture the seasonal transformations of the local trees.  I didn't have to drive very far to find something beautiful and something spooky.

A magnificent beauty clothed in a spectrum of greens, yellows and reds.

Having lost most of its leaves, this tree has dressed down in preparation for Halloween.

After taking these shots, I decided to make a quick stop at the local Wal-Mart.  It soon became clear many people had the same idea as I found myself in a long line of cars waiting to make the left turn into the parking lot.  During that time I witnessed an exhibition of anger that took me totally by surprise.  In the car directly in front of me were four teenagers, with a boy and girl in the back seat.  When the boy turned around and suddenly glared at me, I wondered what he was doing.  The girl turned and followed suit.  As I watched, I saw the boy angrily mouth the words 'back off', his face contorted with rage.  What?  I checked the distance between bumpers...at least half a car length of pavement separated my vehicle from theirs; in fact, I was far back enough to see the license plate.  Did the rules of the road suddenly change, mandating that all vehicles stopped to make left turns maintain a distance in excess of one car length?  I had my sunglasses on so neither could read my face, and I remained calm, my face registering no reaction to his message.  I have no idea what set them off.  But he and the girl continued to glare at me, their eyes narrowed, throwing all their anger in my direction.  As the traffic moved I decided to expand the distance between us.  But still the two glared, as if daring me to cross some imaginary line in the sand.  No thanks.  I haven't done anything wrong and you two need to get a grip.  As the vehicle turned into the parking lot the boy rolled down his window as if to yell something at me and I thought to myself how very little it takes for some people to completely blow up.  What struck me the most was the fact that I had done nothing to them, yet they felt completely justified in exacting some pent up rage at me.  And I wondered if they were acting out what many people are feeling.  When it was my turn to enter the parking lot, I decided if this is any indication of what shopping at Wal-Mart would be like today, maybe I had other things to do.  So I left; who wants to be stuck in a crowd filled with that kind of energy?  Not me.  Not now.  Not ever.

Someone needs to tell those two Halloween is next week and they should save the scary behavior for that time.

Hey everyone, be good to each other.  The survival of our country depends on it.  Actually, the survival of our world depends on it.

Graphic courtesy of PrintMaster 12.

Oh, and today marks 1 year.  Can't believe its been one year since I started this journal.  Wow!

~~Strength is admirable and courage is respectable.~~

~~May peace be your anchor in the storms of life.~~