7/30/10

A Little Patch of Cool


Yesterday was loaded with activity – all those last-minute errands when one child is graduating from and the other is returning to college. Late in the 100° afternoon, I turned the car toward my favorite tomato stand. As I rounded the curve, I didn’t see the wooden chair that signaled the small stand was open. But, no, there it was, tucked a little further back into the surrounding trees. As I got out to buy one of the two remaining baskets, I noticed it was at least 20° cooler here in the shade. And quiet, almost serene. Birds were chirping (chirping!) and through the trees, I saw a woman in a housedress soundlessly shaking out a rag from a corner of her porch. I felt like I’d been transported back to the 1950’s! For a moment, the galloping concerns of the day stood still. I turned back to the road and blinked. The bank with its crowded ATM’s was still on the corner. The four lanes of traffic were still whizzing by. The tomato seller smiled as if he’d seen this reaction before and told me I’d just stepped into his “little patch of cool.” It was a moment that stayed with me the rest of the day.

This afternoon, when I finally got a chance to sit down at my bead tray, I realized I’d just entered my own little patch of cool. Where’s yours? Visited lately?

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