Clear the mechanism!

A few thoughts in my head today:

–The Silent Treatment. I get out of my car. I parked in a wooded parking lot. However, I feel like I’m right next to the road. I walk a half mile along the trail. I’m in my thoughts. I’m still making the transition from driving.

The trail starts to take a noticeable uphill transition. I can feel the burn in my hamstrings and quads. I wasn’t expecting a hill workout. My breath is deep, but still manageable. I watch where I step to avoid the mud and crinkled leaves.

After a few minutes, I stop all of a sudden. I’m amazed. The noise I had been hearing has been replaced. Instead of a constant rumble, it’s quiet. There’s nothing. A minute ago, I heard the honk of a horn or the whoosh of a car. Now, it’s so quiet, I can hear a twig break. I look up to see a squirrel scamper in the grass.

In the movie For Love of the Game, Kevin Costner’s character is a successful pitcher by the name of Billy Chapel. In key moments, he tells himself to “clear the mechanism” to eliminate distractions and focus on doing his best. He forces himself to let go of worries, mistakes, and the New York boobirds. Meanwhile, all I had to do to “clear the mechanism” was step out into the woods.

I continue on up the hill. I keep at it for a good twenty minutes. I’m sweating now. Finally, I get to the top and look down. I see the road and the cars. They look smaller here. I’m amazed by the stillness. I think to myself that this is the way it really should be.

Yes, it’s good to be in the woods.

—Snowed under with work. Summer might be hanging on, but the woods was still busy with animals getting ready for Fall and Winter.

Oh it wasn’t the deer. They looked like they were models on a cat walk. I swear three of the deer I saw were prancing on the trail. “Left, right, shake it baby!”

I came across some geese too, but they were kicking back, squawking in the river. Gearing up for the long flight south. No way! Instead, they had other ideas. I guess they figure they have all the time in the world to hitch a ride to the city and then catch a nice tailwind outside Philadelphia International Airport to some nice southward location. They must not have flown in a while. Do they realize how many planes get delayed each day flying out of Philly? Good luck with that geese!

No, no, the real workers surprisingly were the Squirrels. They have a reputation as being lazy and skittish. They were working hard though. They were racing here and there, busy as can be with walnuts and acorns in their mouth. Four of them jumped out on the trail in front of me loaded with food to store for the winter.

It gets better. I swear I saw the sales manager from the movie Glengarry Glen Ross. Instead of “Put that coffee down! Coffee’s for closers only.” I heard one of the fatter looking squirrels yell out to the rest of the crew: “Put the walnuts down. Walnut’s are for closers only.”

I even saw a little sign posted on a tree. “Always Be Collecting acorns!”

Wow, what a tough crowd.

Before and after and my look of surprise.

–Lost in the shuffle. I wrote a few weeks ago about finding empirical evidence that Big Foot exists. I broke the mystery of a lifetime. At least in my mind!

But now it’s gone. I went back to the spot where I discovered Big Foot and he was nowhere to be found. Nowhere! I waited for a long time. I thought he might be hiding. But, I came up with nothing. He looked gone for good.

Oh Big Foot, come back! There goes my fame and fortune!