I’m lying in bed, trying to convince myself that I should rise and shine and take on the new day. I hearken back to my youth, when our mother would open the door to the stairway leading to our upstairs bedrooms, slap a hand on the step and call out, “Shake a leg, time to get up, there’s work to do!”
I swing my legs over the side of the bed, plant my feet on the floor and get vertical. The shine part will come later. In the process I think about the mantra that is part of my daily life: to get vertical and remain that way throughout the day, to pick up a piece or two of trash in the public domain and make someone laugh.
Sometimes I can meet my goal by 8:30 a.m. when I go out to greet our Lima News carriers, Don and Tammy, curbside. It doesn’t take much to make them laugh, especially if I act goofy. Occasionally I’ll fetch an errant piece of litter after they leave.
I try to live the mantra throughout the day with the hope that I will have made my part of the world a better place.
As I bend over to pick up a beverage container I ask myself this question: “What if we all, during our rounds in the public landscape, retrieved someone else’s castoffs from a street or parking lot? Or, were more careful ourselves?”
When I cross the parking lot and enter a store to do my grocery shopping, I see something that makes me wonder about human behavior. Perhaps you have noticed this: the number of food items that are picked up in one aisle, say cereal, and placed among the canned goods or elsewhere. I can only guess they decided they did not want it and therefore chose not to expend the energy or lacked the consideration to put said item back in its rightful place.
I saw one store director making his rounds with a cart retrieving items that were placed hither and yon. When I mentioned the subject to him, he told me it especially bothered him when it came to perishable foodstuffs because they would have to be disposed of. I reflected on that when I saw a package of frozen fish thawing in the egg cooler. Just because…
When I bring groceries home and stock the larder, I often turn eggs, flour, chocolate chips, etc. into baked goods for my wife, Karen, and myself. Being reasonable folks, we can only consume so many raspberry rhubarb muffins or triple chocolate brownies. Ergo we share the bounty with our neighbors and dear friends, Chuck and Mary Jane, the mail carriers or folks in the businesses I frequent. I look at that thoughtful act as an indirect means of sharing our wealth with others.
Oh the joy of sharing and receiving. What if we…
When I travel down Glenwood Avenue on my errands, I pass my friend Nick’s house. When he is sitting on his porch, we wave to each other, and if I have the time, I will stop to chat with him. No matter how long I am there, this is what I notice: Unfailingly, Nick waves to the occupants in nearly every vehicle that goes by, people that he most likely does not know.
I strive to learn from his behavior and wave to more of the cars that pass me as I water the flowers in our yard. It requires little effort, and for a brief moment the world becomes a shade more friendly.
If by now you have figured out that this essay is about the “what if we did” in life, you are brilliant and win the muffin. On the other hand, I don’t want this to be Phil’s gripe list. That said, I will leave you with this gem.
What if we could all agree there would be one day in the week where we didn’t have to listen to lawnmowers and the associated power equipment that is part of that chore. There is enough audible commotion in our world, but think of it — one day where we could hear more birdsong and the laughter of children and perhaps sleep in a bit longer.
My vote would be for Sunday, but I get it. We are busy; we have work and family priorities, and then there is the weather. I know, it’s just a wild thought.
Another what if we…
In the meantime, I’ll continue to rise and shine and do my best to live that mantra I began this essay with. To go three for three.
Phil Hugo lives in Lima. His column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Lima News editorial board or AIM Media, owner of The Lima News.
