Morning is great time for a stroll.

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Slim Ran­dles

Some­times it’s good to just walk around slowly and qui­etly and look and think. This morn­ing was one of those times. I didn’t get mildly out of breath the way Doc wanted me to, but just strolled comfortably.

There was what we still call the old drug­store, there in faded brick solid­ity on the cor­ner. The new drugstore’s made mostly of glass and is three blocks down these days, and the old drug­store has become a meet­ing place and rehearsal hall for our local actors, and is also a place where mem­bers of the PTA take turns tutor­ing chil­dren after school. Not a bad job for a grand old building.

And here comes Mrs. San­di­ford. She’s bent over pretty badly these days, but she looks up at me with effort and smiles a good morn­ing. Two years ago we knew she wasn’t going to sur­vive that stroke, but here she is, still smil­ing and still tak­ing care of her two cats: Boots and Desdemona.

There’s old Billy, asleep in the street again. He was Stew­art Simpson’s dog until Stew passed on, and now Billy belongs to all of us. We haven’t had a town dog since Sally died in her sleep on Doc’s front porch, you know, so now Billy has picked up the slack.

We all feed him and pet him, and he has quite smoothly made the tran­si­tion from one-man dog to one-town dog. He greets each of the chil­dren in the morn­ings down at the school, just to make them feel good about them­selves. A worth­while job.

Old Mar­tin, the cross­ing guard, stops the traf­fic for Billy now, as well as for the kids. How Mar­tin can make it out there, year after year, in all that weather, just to get those kids safely across the street, is a mys­tery. He’s a spe­cial guy.

That new young cou­ple just parked the car over by the dress shop and got out. They have that new baby of theirs in one of those tummy sling things. You can zip a parka right around those babies, you know. Keeps every­one warm and feel­ing loved.

As for me, I just like to think of Thanks­giv­ing and the trea­sures life has given us.

Brought to you by the national award-winning book “A Cowboy’s Guide to Grow­ing Up Right.” Read a free sam­ple at www.slimrandles.com.

Posted by kpotts on Nov 19 2012. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS Feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.