Momentum Tuesday

Yesterday I opined that life appeared to mired in relatively long and marginally deep mud filled bog. That's not exactly what I said, but it's pretty much what I meant. Today felt different. Things started to break free and I gained some small amount of momentum on a number of fronts that have some level of importance to me.

About half way through the afternoon, the folks from Riverby Books called about the books I dropped off yesterday and made me a cash offer that was too high to take so I talked them down a couple of dollars. I may even take some store credit instead. I haven't decided but it was great getting the call back. The primary reason that I negotiated a lower sale price lies in the fact that I really love the venue. A small independent used book store on Capitol Hill. What? I believe strongly in keeping a place like that in business because I know down deep in my heart that the owners are following their passion. That sort of risk taking must be supported, so I negotiated the sale price on some old tomes that offered no other purpose than collect dust on a shelf until yesterday. Those books moved on yesterday, and hopefully, they serve to inspire another reader as they've inspired me.

I took the call on my way out to find the second of three Little Free Libraries  within easy walking distance of my office. I'm happy to report that I successfully located the little nook and dropped off six books to mark the sixth day of my minimalist journey.

Six Books and a Campaign
Poster on a Telephone Junction
Box - Northeast Washington, DC

The joy of exploring new venues with my walking that this path toward reducing the material things that may be anchoring me in the past feels like the right thing to be doing now, and I'm grateful that I've started down this path, however reluctantly that I headed out with the first steps. I'm less than a week into the experiment, and I'm seeing benefits that I never would have predicted.

Little Free Library and It's Matching
Row House in Northeast Washington, DC

A largely uncharted path behind me, I decided to continue rambling through the neighborhoods that had escaped my past explorations. I jumped the street in front of the Library and landed in Lincoln Park. Now I have run around Lincoln Park, and I've driven around Lincoln Park. When I entered the center  of the park, I came in with the knowledge that I'd never been into the interior of Lincoln Park. Let's face it, who could have missed this statue?

Statue Commemorating Educator and Civil Rights Activist Mary McLeod Bethune

Mary McLeod Bethune started an school for African American students in Daytona Beach, FL which eventually grew into Bethune-Cookman University. She served Franklin D. Roosevelt as a national advisor and she's known as "The First Lady of the Struggle"  for her efforts to improve the lives of African Americans during the difficult times in advance of the Civil Rights Movement gaining significant momentum. She's an example of the going about the work that's placed in front of you understanding that you may not live to see the results of your vision but having the grit and tenacity to advance forward in the face of uncertainty. I'm grateful to have made her acquaintance some six decades later.

When I exited the park, I realised that my assumption of never having visited the center of the park was not technically correct. One night, a long time ago, I was driving a car full of my college classmates home from a night of carousing in Georgetown. We came to the intersection of East Capitol Street and 11th Street, and the sign at the intersection indicated that 11th Street was one way in the southerly direction. Now to get back to school, I knew we needed to go a little north and quite a bit east. I saw a road ahead continuing east, and I took it.

Footpath, That LOOKS LIKE A ROAD - Lincoln Park - Washington, DC

This maneuver elicited a great cacophony of protest from my passengers because they rightly recognized, even in their less than stone cold sober state, that I'd chosen to drive the car onto a sidewalk running into the center of the park. I think the photo above documents the fact that my confusion was justified, but there remain some who disagree with that assessment. They're probably right. Fortunately for all of us, I successfully extricated ourselves and our car from the west end of the park and we carried on smartly back to school from there.

Finishing out my jaunt, I came across a grasshopper on a lightpole.

Grasshopper on a Lightpole, Southeast Washington, DC

Finally, I finished up my wanderings by making my way past the grand old lady of the Anacostia.

Spring Afternoon with the USS Barry at the Washington Navy Yard

The USS Barry has become a thematic feature of my walking and my writing, but that won't last for too much longer. Since, as far as I can tell, no one is reading this missive the repetitive nature of these pictures should not cause too much bother. If it does, know that there are not too many more days of having to put up with it.

I'm grateful that today seemed to be a day where I gained some momentum. Boredom was pushed aside and wonder in the gift of living and working in a great city experienced a rebirth. Days like today give the fortitude to push through those days where no chance is evident and I sense I have lost my momentum. Per my normal routine, I look forward to being surprised by whatever wonders unfold in the coming day.