Summerwind

Today was a pretty full Saturday.  I started off with a group of friends and we talked about the difference between forgiveness and redemption.  From my perspective (and I'll speak for myself here) it is much more likely that I will receive forgiveness for past wrongs if I'm seeking redemption from them.  I have some small amount of influence on the later, and the former is wholly in the hands of someone else.  Forgiveness is really only important to me when I give it.  A wise woman I know says that forgiveness is simply giving up hope of a different or better past.  I like that definition because forgiveness really just becomes a matter of fact, since there is really no hope for a different or better past.  It's right there in the word itself...forgiveness, giving that happens in advance of the insult.

It doesn't quite come across as well when I write it, but it was a pretty good way to start the day.

Even though we are several days into autumn, a fresh "Summerwind" blew into town today.

Schooner "Summerwind" from Kings Point, NY

"Summerwind" is a the newest addition to the United States Merchant Marine Academy sailing fleet.  Laid down in 1929, she is a classic vessel in apparently new condition.  Her wooden masts, and, to me anyway, the unique design of her booms were a glorious addition to all three of my walks today.

Stern view of "Summerwind"

Rory Conlan and I discussed the appearance of "Summerwind," and when I related to him that it was a schooner, he had all kinds of questions about what the term schooner actually meant.  This led to a series of question regarding the classification of sailing boats or ships which Wikipedia does a passable job of describing and providing enough links to expand on these descriptions to satisfy anyone.  You can read all you ever wanted to know about what makes a hermaphrodite brig slightly different from a brigantine rigged ship.

I once again found that my walk has taken me places that I never even imagined existed. The real beauty of that magic is associated with the fact that I've already covered this path more times than I can easily count. Every moment is a journey and act of creation.  I find that if I'm bored with a place because I've seen it before, I am probably not trying hard enough to really observe because each moment and place, no matter how familiar it may seem, is truly unique.

Sunrise, Friday, 25 Sep 2014

On this second day of autumn, I was greeted with a beautiful sunrise display over the Washington Navy Yard, DC.  Each one of these experiences is unique, and although they happen every day, I'm reminded that each and every one of them is truly a gift that should never be taken for granted.

Sunrise over the Washington Navy Yard, District of Columbia

If I live to be one hundred and twenty years old, I'll only have the opportunity to see 43,800 sunrises.  That's quite a few, but I've already slept through more than my fair share of them.  I understand that we all need our rest, but I can't help but think that I probably wasted some of those hopefully many but ultimately finite opportunities.  No sense looking back with too much nostalgia (or even worse regret), but I'm glad I got out and experienced this one.  Here's to hope for another one.

Putting Yourself in the Way, and Letting Beauty Find You

Forgive me because this journal of my walk is going to ramble a bit today.  It seems appropriate because that is how the walking unfolded...a bit of a ramble.  In the end, I'm certain the day resolved in a much more compelling way than I imagined it would when I set my initial expectations.  The Universe is conspiring to do things like that for you.  All you have to really do is get out of the way and let it perform.

Pope Francis was in town again today, and I had become aware that he was speaking to a joint meeting with Congress in the Capitol Building.  It's been quite awhile since I really consumed the broadcast news (and my life is a whole lot better since I quit wasting my time with that nonsense, but that's a story for a different day), so I really didn't know what time the meeting was scheduled to occur.  I had a vague notion that it was scheduled for relatively early in the morning (from a Congressional perspective anytime before ten in the morning appears to be an early day, but that's also a story for a different day.

My suspicions were confirmed when I got to the intersection of East Capitol Street and 2nd.  I was greeted by an impressive array of law enforcement personnel in a variety of vehicles (off road "gators," pedestrians, Segways, cars, SUVs, motorcycles, and bicycles).

Washington, DC at the intersection of East Capitol and 2nd on the day of Pope Francis' address to Congress 2015

I was told to turn around and head back to 3rd Street and move either north or south from there.  I chose to head north, and when I ran into Massachusetts Avenue I headed back into the heart of the city.  This was the first time that I've walked this route, and although I probably should have known it was going to happen, I was nevertheless pleased when I came upon Union Station.  It's a wonderful building, and I decided right then and there that I'd have to make this a more routine destination or at least put it on my route ans a frequently exercised pass-by option. Since it was dark (the days still manage to get shorter) I decided I would not attempt any photos and instead headed back toward the Capitol Building where I was confronted, once again, by a whole passel of law enforcement officers and temporary barriers.

More Papal Protectors...this time with fences

It was getting to be about time to head back, so I did.

At lunch I decided to mosey back down to the same general vicinity of my morning ramble.  I'm happy to report that the Pope had moved on, and the security perimeters that had sent me off on my unplanned route in the morning were slowly shrinking back down to a more manageable level.  I even was able to snap a few photos of Union Station which Google was kind enough to stitch into a panoramic shot.  I don't quite know why it pleases me as much as it does, but I really do enjoy when that little piece of cloud magic happens.

Union Station

The weather was gorgeous, and I would not have even thought to pass by this spectacular vista had I not been "inconvenienced" earlier in the day.

When I got home things just kept getting better.  I passed over two bridges above College Creek and was able to see the sun setting and the moon rising over the Severn River.

The sun sets as the moon rises over the Severn River

A bit later I was able to watch the sun continue to set over College Creek from Fitch Bridge.

Sun setting behind College Creek from Fitch Bridge

And finally from Hill Bridge I captured the last glory of the day as it settled down low in the western horizon.

Final sunset behind Hubbard Hall over College Creek #nofilter

Given that my plans had been apparently thwarted from the very outset this morning, and my expectations had been put back up on a shelf, I was not entirely convinced that things would work out the way I'd anticipated.  As it turns out, I was right.  I could never have imagined the day turning into the kind of fantastic experienced that unfolded around me.

I've said a couple of times that one should put themselves in the way of beauty.  I was afforded the opportunity to re-think that approach a bit today, and I decided that the concept is correct but the words needed some editing.  I think the proper phrase should read something like, "Put yourself out there, and beauty will come to you and land in your way.

It was a fantastic day, and I'm reminded again that the Universe is constantly conspiring to work in my best interest...especially when I begin to think that it may have successfully thwart my plans and dash my hopeful expectations.  The Universe will always come through...I just have to be flexible enough to allow it sufficient space in my mind to work its magic.

Today, Pope Francis was in Washington, DC for a two day visit to President Obama and tomorrow he intends to address the Congress.  Preparations have been underway for the last several weeks, and the Office of Personnel Management even recommended that Federal employees take leave or telework if possible.  That recommendation made the commute into the city this morning a much more civil affair than usual.

This afternoon on my typical jaunt around Capitol Hill, I noticed that there were three flags on each lamp post surrounding the Capitol Reflecting Pool just west of the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial.

The Flags of the United States of America, Vatican City, and the District of Columbia near the Capitol Reflecting Pool

As is probably obvious, the Flag of the United States of America is on the left.  The Flag of Vatican City is in the center, and the Flag of the District of Columbia is on the right.

One of the great things about the walking that I'm doing is that it affords me the opportunity to see things that I would not have seen if I had been going about my business as I did before I took up pedestrianism.  The experience of these observations often piques my curiosity and points me in a direction where I can learn something that I might not have otherwise explored.

I never knew until today that the Flag of the District of Columbia was modelled on the Washington (as in George) family's coat of arms with roots dating from hundreds of years in the past from Durham, England.  I would not have recognized the Flag of Vatican City, and I did not know the quasi-official name for the Flag of the United States of America.  It was a good day walking, and a good day learning.  I even learned how to embed a GIF in Blogger, which was trivially easy by the way.

First World and Billion Person Problems (FWP and BPPs)

Today, I went to one of those big box stores, and I racked up the single biggest bill I have ever managed to put in one cart.  I've had some doozies, but this was one for the record books.  As I was feeling just a little bit sorry for myself, I realized that I'd just run smack into a classic first world problem (FWP).  This bill, and more importantly the items listed that add up to that bottom line, are if anything a very good problem to have.

This is a good problem to have

Believe it or not, I was saved from my own pity party associated with the bottom line of this receipt from a conversation I had with Rory Conlan this morning during the course of my walk.  As I've noted recently, the days are getting shorter which means that I'm finishing my morning walk in advance of the sun rising to a sufficiently high altitude to take reasonably good photos.  My rule set for the last month or so has been to only allow myself to use contemporary photos in these little missives of mine, and I've stuck to that practice without fail.  That's one of the reasons you've been treated to multiple pictures of the area around the Capitol.  It's moderately interesting, and the sun is up high enough to facilitate photography.

This morning I was talking to Rory and thinking about how to solve this dilemma.  I suggested that later in the day we should talk about solving billion person problems.  I was first introduced to the concept within the last week or so by an interview on NPR with a Google executive.  It's a great concept, and there is a pretty good description of using the concept of solving Billion Person Problems (BPPs) to frame an approach to useful living linked here.

The problem that I used as an example to explain the concept of BPPs to Rory was the problem of providing access to optimal footwear to each individual on planet earth.  I'm not really sure if this is truly a BPP or not, but I know that eleven months ago I had this problem myself.  What's really fascinating to me is that until I started putting some miles of asphalt underneath my own two feet, I didn't even realize this problem existed for me on an individual level.

If I had photos of the number of times my walking has resulted in feet taking on a consistency similar to ground hamburger, I'd be able to more adequately illustrate my point.  I have addressed the issue once before on this blog in the early days, but suffice it to say I can actually look back on this matched set of big but not particularly terrible blisters with feelings of warm nostalgia.  After this little experience, I've had some that would make your teeth hurt just looking at them.

Since I live in the first world and almost exclusively have FWPs, I strongly suspect that  at least 15% of the world's population (about a billion people) are at least as poorly off when it comes to having access to optimal if not adequate footwear.

I like the way that my journey so far has allowed me to expand my horizons one small step at a time and bring some much needed perspective to my incredibly rich and blessed existence.  There are problems all around us just waiting to be solved, and the awareness that has come with my pilgrimage in six mile segments has made me grateful for the things that have been entrusted to me.

Imagining Life a Decade from Now

For reasons that are not clear to me, I suddenly began to ponder what life might be like ten years from now.  I'll be a little less than 25% older, and if my life cycle projections are correct for folks in my general cohort, I'll be a little less than 45% through my expected lifespan.  One of the things that thinking about the possibility ten years from now has driven home in the last several minutes is just how young I might actually be right now.  That's a good thing from my perspective because the numbers quoted above, admitting that some of them relate to some less than conservative but still possible assumptions, don't lie.

I've always felt like a bit of an old soul.  When I was younger, I more to adults than I ever did to folks of my vintage.  That's a pretty good way to get good grades in school, but it's not necessarily a recipe for fitting in with your peers.  Things shifted in college and even more once I entered the working world.  That older soul outlook became more valued.

One of the downsides of that outlook is that recently, I've been feeling a little older than I actually am based on the calendar.  Some of that is what I've experienced.  Again, that's mostly good, but not everything about that experience has been all rainbows and unicorns.

All that aside, it was good to feel younger.  Projecting anything farther out for me than a day or two and basing my expectations of outcomes on those projections has proven a difficult path in the past, but today I'm going to let my imagination run rampant a little.  Ten years from now could mean that I'll have walked between 30,000 and 40,000 miles.  I suspect the best I could hope for would really be the low end of that figure, and there would have to be quite a few things break my way for that to become reality, but 30k miles is within the realm of the possible.  That's just  little over once around the earth at the equator.  Actually, it's about two years of walking beyond once around the earth at the equator.

That also sounds like a vast distance, and even given my efforts over almost the last year is difficult for me to imagine.  When I started this practice of walking, I had so many preconceived notions about how it would be and what I would think that proved to be totally incorrect.  I'm still learning things about myself and my environment that I never anticipated.  Some of it has been more difficult that I imagined it would, and some of it has been far easier than my anxious projections anticipated.

I do know that another ten years, should I be blessed enough to experience them is a little over 3,600 more of these possibilities.

Sunrise over the Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress

Once again, the picture is an inadequate substitute for the actual experience, but the thought of the possibility of seeing something like this over three thousand times more in the next decade is a fantasy worth contemplating.  I'll keep trying to put myself in the way of beauty, and I hope that I get the chance that my imagination has laid out before me.

Four Bridges (Plus Two) Part Deux

Today, I availed the opportunity afforded to me of a relatively clear morning schedule to conduct a rehash of last weekend's four bridges route.  This time I did extend the distance a bit, and included two more bridges with reasonably good accessibility.  Like last time, I tried to capture the bridge placards, but I was not quite as successful with the two bridge additions.  These are the markings I was able to find.

Bridge Markings from the Four Bridges (Plus Two) Route

The top two markings are from the high bridge over the Severn River on Baltimore Annapolis Boulevard. This is the bridge that replaced the drawbridge at the bottom of "Oh, shit" hill as discussed here.  This addition to the four bridges route added about 1.2 miles to the total route.  I was able to capture a panoramic shot of the mouth of the Severn River.  The picture doesn't quite do justice to the scene of the sunlight filtering through the low overcast.  The light was a cool soft light that contrasted nicely with the dry warmth of the morning.  I suspect if I brave this path over the river this winter, I'll think with longing on how the walk felt today.  Last February it was a bit biting with the wind knifing out of the north and not being slowed by anything at all as it fetched down the river.  It makes me a little cold just thinking about it.  That was not at all what it was like today.

The mouth of the Severn River from the Baltimore Annapolis Blvd high bridge

The second bridge that I added today was the drawbridge that spans Spa Creek from downtown Annapolis to Eastport.  This is a great bridge to watch the parade of lights from if you're early enough to get a spot.  It's also covered in the second row of markers in the first photo in this post.  There is quite a bit of history on both ends of this bridge, and it's a really nice area of Annapolis to visit.  The Eastport end is probably not the first place that tourists would go, but in this area there is plenty to see and do to make it worth the trip.  

This time I was able to capture panoramic views both up and down Spa Creek.

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There is quite a bit of wealth moored at the Annapolis Yacht club in the left hand side of the photo above. Additionally, there were more than a few boaters out soaking up the waning days of summer in advance of the work that goes along with owning a boat that inevitably come due in the fall.

Spa Creek looking upstream from the Eastport Bridge

The boat in the middle was headed upstream, and there are plenty of Grover Clevelands, Salmon Chases, and even a Woodrow Wilson or three tied up at the Eastport Yacht Club.  Overall it was a fantastic little jaunt with great weather, good scenery, and a good amount of asphalt put under the feet.  Covering old ground from a slightly different perspective is always a good practice as well.