A Relaxing Break, Lesson 10

Sit quietly for a few. 

Absorb your surroundings.

Observe everything.

Write, Set Aside, Edit, Revise, Submit per Beginner's Writing Course

THE PROMPT

 

Take a Relaxing Break 

Write from different angles.

THE ESSAY

"Thanks, Rex!" the sign said, "For 20 years service."  We contemplated what service entailed.  Caretaker for a small city park, especially in winter, meant emptying trash cans, disposing of fallen branches, and clearing snow.  

Hubby was sitting next to me in the truck cab, toasty warm.  We were avoiding the cold outdoors.  Though we'd had a snowfall of 2 to 3 inches, it was a bright evening -- the blue sky was full of puffy white clouds.  Hubby had seen a John Deere riding tractor driving down the sidewalks pushing the white fluffy stuff.

Thanks to Rex, I'd assume, for the U.S. flag flying at half mass in honor of last week's fallen.  It waved in the wind while the strong nylon rope bounced against the pole, the snap hooks clanging.  The undulating red stripes drew our eyes.  Beyond it to the west we watched the sun set, taking away it's warmth.

Little white star flowers scattered and sweetened the air as the wind breezed through our slit windows.  

We laughed remembering when he was a teenager in the park washing his Corvette red Camaro.  Now, there were signs, "Stay in designated parking areas."  I thought of ice cream socials in the shelter house -- vanilla or chocolate, sprinkles or Hershey drizzles.  There were memories of miniature train rides, merry-go-rounds, and curly cue slides, now obsolete.  And that special picnic just for him and me before we wed.

"She Drives Me Crazy" came from The Waterfront Inn restaurant.  Coated couples, buttoned up to the chin, were crossing the little bridge.  The choppy water slop-slapped against the solid rocks, reverting and returning.

Hubby said, "This is relaxing, thank you."  We were both thankful -- a quiet few, a God-given view, and, somewhere, a civil-servant called Rex.