brenda’s thoughts, watch out I’m Christian

Made it out to the river today

I went to the local boat ramp and found a quiet spot

I was not at the water’s edge

I scooted back to sit in the shade

And watch the water

Watch the sandy bottom

Watch the branches bob up and down in the current

Watch a bug track across my flip flop

Watch birds skim the surface

Watch butterflies dart

A lizard scurry

And hear the relentless sound of highway traffic behind me

Then came the onslaught of human traffic

First the grandfather showing his grandkids the river and demonstrating his unending knowledge of all things nature

Then two young Mexican men looking for a place to fish

Then two very young redneck boys also looking for a fishing spot and strangely enough carrying a white, well groomed poodle

Next came a fat woman who unlike any of the men who preceded her would not stop talking to me, she was married to one of the Mexican men and this was one of their favorite fishing spots, they had caught several last week from this very spot but the line kept breaking so they got stronger line and now they can’t catch anything, but her husband just loves it here because he’s from southern Mexico which is dense jungle and this river reminds him of home

She was very nice but I felt the desire to go walking

So I did

Everywhere I went there were people, in lawn chairs, fishing, leaning against trees, talking, eating a late lunch, on sandbars with small children who were wading in and digging in the sand,

So I walked away from the river toward the woods and swamp

And found isolation

I walked a dirt road with tall grass and brambles on either side

With each step crickets and grasshoppers went flying

There were hundreds

I could hear them chirp

I could hear them pop and snap and thud as they jumped out of my way and into the grass

I could hear them as they continued jumping in the grass

They were so loud that I considered that if a rattle snake were here I wouldn’t hear it for all these crickets and grasshoppers

But there was no rattle snake and I walked on

I felt the call of the wild to get off the dirt road and go into the forest

But unintelligently I had worn flip flops and could find no entry that was free enough of brambles

When the bushes and trees did finally part and let me in I was sure it was a gift from God

Just as I entered I walked right up to a very large and old spider web, it was like netting and I kid you not had a birds feather in it

I grabbed a stick and began whisking it back and forth in front of me to knock down any other webs I might come across, I whisked it so hard you could hear it whip the air as it passed in front of my face

Gingerly I walked on watching for poison ivy, snakes, spiders, etc

I came upon a pig trail, it wasn’t too new and it followed a creek bed so I followed too

Pig trails are great for walking through woods but you gotta know what you’re stepping in, that ain’t just dirt beneath your feet

I kept going deeper and deeper against reason and sanity as I also ways do

Till I came to a place on the pig trail that was fresh

Very fresh

I looked around, continuing to whisk my stick

And decided that since sweat was dripping down my face and mosquitoes were nibbling my forehead I should turn back

So I did

Just as I left the woods I caught site of the spider to which the giant web belonged

I wanted to tell all the woodland creatures to “run away, run away and hide”

Then I thought of Bilbo and his dagger Sting, personally I wouldn’t want o get that close to the spider,

My mind rambled on to squirt guns filled with Raid and then I was back on the dirt road surrounded by crickets and grasshoppers

Suddenly shots rang out, several shots

This is a no hunting zone

And that bozo is shooting right where I was just

I wonder if he was watching me, he had to have seen me

Jerk

Anyway, it was a good walk

I’ll have to go again