Impressions of a Spring Evening

At the outset of the walk, a fierce greeting, a pair of golden retrievers whose wagging tails belie their menace. The ugly Sano Rubin trailers give way to the dead ends and green lawns of upper Scott. The usual turnaround and descent back toward Campbell. In the trees near the retirement community a red-crested woodpecker seeks profit while the nearby stone wall keens for repair. Up again the zig zag way, familiar smells in the air, pork chops, tobacco smoke, lawn fertilizer, burnt Velveeta, lilacs. On one side of Campbell the phoenix sight of my former school, the new creature rising from the ashes of the old, on the other, realtor signs and unconcerned cats. Back past the trailers, a Ransom walk along the ugly slash that was a playground. Up the street a little boy calls my name and an adult helps a small girl steer her flashing-sneaker-powered segway. Why didn't sneakers light up when I was little? More dogs barking, birch trees birching, other people walking past the house that new neighbors moved into. The cemetary, and in the distance the convent plays Ave Maria on the bells. People talking in a lit garage, perhaps about the village wide garage sale to come. Last year I bought a pair of dumb-bells, and someday I will use them.