vida.

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: 

it is the courage to continue that counts."

- Winston Churchill -

 

This morning, I walked the 2.5 miles to work. It is one of those rare days in June where the humidity is surprisingly low and the sun is astonishingly bright. Listening to my iPod, I let my mind wander; the pavement hard against my feet. 

Half way there, I came to an intersection full of people. To my right, I heard screams of laughter. Kids running around a playground. Constant movement and shrieks of joy. Parents sitting on benches or standing by - tired and relieved by the entertainment the now-vacant-for-summer elementary school's playground equipment provides - forgoing morning cartoons for fresh summer air.

But on my left, no children were present. Adults - mostly old and a few young - were standing in groups of two or three in a large, mostly empty, parking lot. I could barely make out lips moving. A young woman in a black above the knee 20's fringe dress shifted uneasily looking down at her feet. They all wore black. 

A funeral home and a playground side by side.

Both made me thankful for life.


photograph by Debbie Carlos