Thoughts on a Sunday Stroll

Suddenly the wind blew into my face as if to wake me up from a daydream and I began to realize the beauty of the evening before me. A cool breeze had replaced the muggy heat that had been so prevalent throughout the summer and the sky was remarkably clear. There was a renewed sense of enthusiasm in my stride and my mind began to work again. As the wind blew through my hair I had a real feeling of being alive.

I was strolling through my neighborhood and of course as I would have loved to have had some sort of amazing mental discovery, I did not. I was consumed by the difference in architecture, colors, automotives, landscaping and many other aspects of my neighborhood. I became mesmerized by people's gardens and flowers - I appreciated their personal touches and creativity. And once again I fell in love with the very idea of individuality.

When I was young I loved to draw houses. I was intrigued by architecture in all its capacities. I loved to look at buildings, bridges, barns - you name it…but houses always caught my eye and held my attention. The affinity was derived I am sure from a mixture of ideas and feelings, but just the same it is an affinity that I have retained to this day. The very idea of the prominence of brick, a chimney covered in ivy, dormers, a brick sidewalk, copulas and spires. The added details that make a home stand out speak to me like paint on a canvas and in many ways our homes, be them big or small, say a great deal about who we are.

As I mention often, I grew up in the small Western Kentucky town of Dawson Springs, where little old ladies raised red geraniums in concrete planters. Slathered with a fresh coat of white paint each year, these urns and geraniums were fixtures on many southern porches. Lawns and porches kept as clean as their Duncan Phyfe filled parlors and dining rooms - they knew what they were doing. On a less beaten side street on a beautiful Sunday there is always a chance that someone might drive by…and be delighted to see the effort put into a yard, a house - a home. I did, try it! Take a walk!