Man in Park......written by TADE

Everyday at 5:25 Bob breathes a sigh of relief. He knows that the day is almost over and his therapy will soon begin. Bob shuts off his computer and walks down the hall way takes a left and passes Sally’s desk as he does every day @ 5:30. Sally smiles as kindly as she always does. Before last fall he would have stopped by to chat with her for a while but he now knows better. He has something more to do with his time. He smiles back at her and tells her to have a good evening. He continues on his journey to wash out his mug. This journey generally takes him 5 minutes when at one point in his life it took another 25. He washes out his mug with hot water, no soap except on Friday, and then excessively dries it before sitting in the cabinet. He walks back to his desk grinning to himself the whole way. He puts the needed papers in his bag, picks it up and heads out the door.

Sunshine immediately hits his face and he can not contain his joy and laughs out loud. He strolls to his car unlocks the passenger door and places his bag in the seat. He walks around the rear of his car and glances at his scraped bumper which always makes him giggle. He plops in the driver seat turns off the radio and takes off towards his slice of Heaven.

As Bob pulls up to the park he notices the trees are starting to bloom. The world around him is full of beauty and he intends to appreciate it all. He finds his perfect spot with its’ lush green grass and plops down flat on his back. He folds his fingers under his head and he closes his eyes briefly to reflect upon his day and his past. He opens his eyes and enjoys the stars that the bright sun creates in front of him. Occasionally as his young daughter would once do he reaches out to try and grab them before they fade and the clear sky above becomes clearer.

Bob often relives the events of his past and appreciates his future. He reminds himself that the stress he felt that day is to stay at his job. He knows what a wonderful life he has and so he lets it all goes. He relaxes each muscle starting with his toes and works his way up to his fingers until every muscle in his body is fully relaxed. It is about that point every day that his lovely bride lays down beside him to do just the same. They do not speak but their elbows touch which often makes her giggle. She relaxes fully just as he had.

It is at that point that they discuss nothing about their day other than how wonderful the leftovers were and what they want to eat for dinner that night. They turn on their sides towards one another and smile. She reminds him it is her night to pick and so she informs him that she had thought about it all day. They were going to that German restaurant that she loved so and he was going to dance with the old man whether he wanted to or not. He smiled and attempted a half hearted fuss about it as he leaned on one elbow but in his heart he knew he would follow her anyway and therefore he was happy. It is true that he hated to dance with the old man but if he were to be true about himself he really just enjoyed the idea of making her think he hated it.

They both turn back over to lie on their backs and silently reflect upon their week and it flashes thru his mind that he did not send that last fax but he fights the thought and remembers a derby car race when he was 12 instead.