Dec 10 2009
Homeward Bound -or- My Daily Vacation
For the last many, many weeks, the most traveling I’ve done is walking home from work. Night falls early in Boston, so on my walk the sky is always as black as a sky can be that hangs over a big city.
Nonetheless, the streetlights never fail to illumine some small wonder. A while ago, after it had rained all day, I walked home in a foul mood, staring at the ground. When I looked up to cross the street, I saw the trees glistening. Each branch on every tree was covered in evenly spaced drops of water. The street lights behind them shone through like giant white orbs held aloft by the dripping trees.
One fall night the wind blew hard against me, slowing my progress up a long hill. I narrowed my eyes against the dirt, dust, and my own hair. The leaves, almost all down by now, whipped around my feet. The wind was fickle though, changing direction every few minutes, and soon the leaves in the street were blowing high in the air. Like swirling snow, some of the small yellow leaves blew diagonally with the wind while others near the pavement fluttered in circles in the opposite direction. A sudden golden blizzard.
There are other small things that make the walk home a memorable trip in and of itself. The pug that surveys his kingdom out the window, barking when I pass by. The statue of Mary with her arms spread, palms open to the sky as if to say, “Calm. Slow down.” And so I do. I watch a vine stretching into the air that turns from red to orange to yellow at the tip. I turn around and see the outline of Boston lit against the night. I watch the houses I walk by every day pass from pumpkins on the porch to Christmas lights on the banisters.
Read more: Boston, Local Travel, Travel, WalkingLlalan specializes in all things Ohio, but has funny stories from all over the US and Canada, plus a few snort-inducing ones from Thailand. And not only does she read books from around the world, she also samples beers in as many languages as possible. Favorite style: the multi-national American Double IPA.
