Amazing Things

Life never becomes a habit to me. It's always a marvel.

Katherine Mansfield
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Hello Val
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"Watchman, tell us of the night."
Last night they took away the fair.
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I think it was Yogi Berra who said "You can see a lot of things by looking." I have seen many amazing things by being alert and watching. I am particularly fascinated to see people do things I don't know how to do or wouldn't do. I watched a crew of fire fighters in New York City jump blindly down into a blazing fire because it was the only access to it.

I watched a Hudson River tug boat captain tuck nine barges in three rows of three neatly in between two piers at the first try against the currents.

One winter morning in New Hampshire I discovered a flat tire on my car, which was a big Ford Station Wagon. I called my friends at Bob and Bill's Chevron station. Bob came over with his jack. Bob was a big, silent bear of a man. There was snow all over and underneath the car, so much snow that he couldn't fit the jack under it. So he reached down with one hand to the side of the car and lifted it up to put the jack under it.

For the past week the Saint Ann's annual carnival has been going on just outside my apartment. The largest attraction was a giant slide 2 stories high and a city block long. It was very popular and the kids were sliding down it all evening.

It was a dark night last night. The carnival closed and all the rides and games were taken down, packed up and moved away. It took four men to dismantle that slide, put all the parts where they were stored and get it ready to move. A specially designed truck came up and attached itself to the end of the slide. The driver then pulled forward about 50 feet. Then he backed up, slowly, with the four men as guides, and maneuvered it between a fence and a fire hydrant, on to a street where cars were parked on both sides. He took it out backwards and then drove off. The whole thing, from beginning the dismantling to the driving away, took 3 hours. It was amazing. I was so impressed I was speechless. I was in awe of that truck driver.

I hope I never stop seeing marvels happen..

DB - Vagabond Journeys
Never give up.