Rites of Spring

Today was our first perfect spring day of the year. I woke up late to a bright sun, opened the windows for some fresh air, did some exercises and set out to begin the first of many groomings of my yard.

I spent most of Saturday emptying my garage just to gain access to my lawnmower which this morning, after months of hibernation, started on the first pull with the glee of a child on the first day of school. I pushed play on my ipod and spent the better part of the next 3 hours cutting grass, edging, raking, sweeping and fertilizing. I also managed to get my first bit of color from the daytime sun. A nice feeling after months of goosepimples and chattering teeth.

This evening, my wife and I and our dear friends, took a stroll up the street to have ice cream. In the warm months, this is an almost nightly ritual. The strolls tend to be similar. We'll talk about the happenings of the day, we'll likely run into one or more other neighbors on similar quests for dairy delights. We'll usually order the same flavors, from preferably our favorite "barrista" Molly, and sit for a while enjoying or treats, before the walk back. This year, with our friends moving to Paris, I imagine I will savor the walks even more than the ice cream.

Along with taking in the sights and the fresh spring air, we also get quite a bit of joy from people watching. Especially crazy people. Our neighborhood has its share of outcasts which are such a part of the area they may as well be trees or lampposts. One of these such characters is known as Dog-Man. He's a slightly disheveled man in his fifties I'm guessing, he always wears some sort of suit and tie and seems like he has somewhere to be, but I don't think he actually does. Sometimes you'll see him at the market or maybe at the library or he may just be looking at the kiosk outside of the ice cream shop. Usually though he's just walking around. He used to have a small dog as his angry little companion, but he doesn't seem to anymore. Maybe we should rename him Dogless-Man.

There was a new crazy guy on the walk home tonight. He was sitting on the sidewalk by the bus stop wearing a hat and a smile and a had a bag with his belongings next to him. He mumbled something, which I thought was something about needing a light. None of us smoke, so we couldn't help. The further from him we got, the louder he seemed to be getting. After a good 100 meters from him we looked back to find that he had actually started following us, but on the opposite of the street. He was still yelling, but incoherently. We wondered if maybe he was not in fact crazy, but was on a wireless headset and speaking on his mobile. When my wife then eloquently said "yeah, the cel phone in his head!". At that we agreed that yeah, he was probably just crazy. We finally arrived at our street and our home and the crazy man had continued on down the street yelling at whomever was within hearing distance. Godspeed!

Some might be frightened by such an occurrence, but I was sort of excited to have a new crazy guy in the neighborhood. I suppose I shouldn't get to carried away, but I figure if I see him let's say 2 more times, then I'll get to name him too.