Sunday Morning Play

It is a cool Sunday morning.  Last night's rain has left the yard damp and there is a slight mist in the air. I'm sitting on the the front porch with my first cup of coffee for the day.  The warm coffee is a comforting balance to the cool dampness that has settled on the porch.

I'm treated to a special scene this morning.  There are 4 or 5 young deer in the field across the road playing what seems to be a game of tag.  One sprints past the others, making a sudden whoosh and little other sound.  Another, now a step behind launches into high speed to catch the first.  They run in a large circle, just inside the tree lined edges of the field. A third joins in as the first makes a quick juke to her right, through some bushes, and then back out into the field.  They are walking again.  A fourth deer seems to be quietly watching from the corner of the field, standing quite still, camouflaged by her color and the surrounding trees. Perhaps that is mom, looking for danger while her offspring chase and run and play in the cool damp air.

I am amazed at the acceleration of these animals.  There is no transition from standing still to full speed, just a whoosh and maybe the sound of leaves and branches being violently displaced.

As the morning light shifts from the dull twilight of dawn to more of an overcast, diffused brightness of the morning, my friends seem to be less comfortable in the open space of the field.  Their game quiets and they move more to treeline looking to snack on some tender undergrowth there.  I can't really see mom, but if I'm patient I can catch an occasional subtle movement that gives her hiding place away.

The wind is increasing now.  More rain seems inevitable this morning.  The leaves are blowing around and falling from some of the trees as they shudder in the breeze and begin their winter preparation.

Even with my sweatshirt and light jacket, I'm am starting to feel a little chill.  My coffee cup is empty and cold. The deer have retreated into the woods.  It is time for me to get started on my day.

Flying

I don't travel like I used to.  I suppose in some ways everyone can make that claim. It is not the experience it was when I was a young man.  Even with all the change though, there is one thing I still appreciate when I fly.  It provides a for a time of solitary reflection.  Even though I am in a very small space, surrounded by travelers from all over, I am largely left alone to pursue my  thoughts. 

I have written many things on airplanes over the years, letters mostly but with an occasional reflection on some fleeting notion that has caught my attention.  The reflections and many of the letters never survive.  When working with paper, the editing process is too cumbersome.  The first drafts are never acceptable and the rewrites are too hard to create and manage.  Throwing away the incomplete, convoluted draft always seemed easier than trying to turn it into something worth sharing. With the advent of the tablet computer I feel that maybe I can capture some of my reflections in a more malleable way. 

Today, I spent a lot of time editing a blog post at 30,000 feet above the earth traveling at hundreds of miles in an hour.  My seatmates were neither curious to learn about me nor interested in offering their stories.  I just pulled out my tablet and began writing.  This device doesn't require the space of a laptop so even in "cattle class", I'm able to use the device despite the person in front of me reclining their seat into my space.

The tablet computer records things like my tablets of paper in the older days but it also allows me the luxury of editing, rereading and editing again until the words fit together like puzzle pieces revealing a picture.  It is my favorite travel tool and it is what I use to maintain some sanity and hopefully some perspective while I travel.