Spontaneous Connections

Sitting outside, everyone came traipsing out  in a festive mood. Must be the break in the gloomy-sky days. Affectionate, expressive Muslim women in colorful wraps hugged me with great gusto on their way to the neighborhood walkways, finally to rest on fresh blades of grass. Then the old ones, the quiet ones and the younger, energetic ones came over to squeeze and hug happily and tightly, such joyfilled greetings. And dogs that sniffed my shoes and licked my legs. There was all this and the laughter, the gnats and the small breezes that blew them over the lake. Neighbors who knew me, in hats with dazzling sequins on there way to big-box stores, having engaged a nephew or cousin to pick them up and whisk them into the late afternoon. And a big pot of pink and white trailing petunias that we pushed into a sheltered corner so they wouldn’t be destroyed by impending thunderstorms heading our way. Oh, it was grand alright and you never know if it will be, or if the mood will be whiney, ornery or just plain silent.

But I love the festive times, the better than best happy times… when the sweetness of humon beings opens and flows.

Best wishes, Whisel*