five thousand shades of blue
Tuesday, July 03, 2001
I was racing home to make that interview, when suddenly I noticed traffic had just stopped dead ahead of me, for no good reason that I could see. I cursed under my breath, feeling my impatience and annoyance mount with each nanosecond that passed.
And then I saw why everyone had stopped, and all anger dissolved away.
A momma duck, trailed by three baby ducks, were crossing one of the busiest sections of Highway 99, at the top of the hill. I watched in silent awe as they hopped up onto the curb-height concrete median, heading for the opposing lane. My heart was in my throat as I saw traffic approaching, and frantically I hit my headlight switch on and off, on and off, hoping that the little duck family would make it across. The drivers in the oncoming lanes luckily saw them in time, and traffic came to a standstill in that direction as well.
I proceeded home feeling a profound peace and awe. I'm not really sure why. Perhaps because it felt like those ducks needed to be there at that moment to show me something that I can't put into words. Sometimes I think we need moments like that during our busy days to bring us back to a grounded reality.
is
this just not enough…?
