some things give me faith in the world

some things give me faith in the world
simple things
simple yet out of the ordinary things

there is good in the world
I enjoy my life
but occassionally there is something that happens that makes me smile in such a way that it is an all body release
some sort of epiphany

a few weeks ago I was taking my standard short hike in the woods with my black dog brutus when I noticed something unusual on the trail
it was a box turtle
I checked him out
I picked him up
I put him back down
and I smiled
I smiled because it gave me faith in the world

squirel and deer are wonderful
but common
it is the seldom seen fox or the even more rare box turtle that give me hope
that give me that feeling when I encounter them

today I had to work late
I worked late then showed up late for a neighborhood meeting on the topic of traffic/pedestrian and cycling safety
when I got home lisa showed me some mail
it was a postcard
a torn and tattered postcard that looked like it had been chewed up by a goat

this in response to a message I wrote on a self addressed postcard that I attached to a few helium balloons and sent for the sky with my two boys

the short note
the note itself
it was a plain white card
my message read
Please leave a note about yourself and where you foung this balloon
then mail back
the response as just as simple and plain
I went hunting in the Apple Orchard one morning and found your balloon in the trees.
B. Patton
Dillsburg, PA
it made me smile
it gives me faith in the world
it is magical in its simplicity

Dillsburgh PA
it is near York, PA north of Baltimore
the post mark matches up
I pulled out the map
that is some good distance
this simple experience fascinates me
like a message in a bottle
but instead some somewhat deflatted mylar balloons that were left over from my surprise 40th birthday party
funny thing
I did not think that those ballons would make it out of Rock Creek Park