Peace In A Great, Big, Empty Place

Sam Wilkinson

According to a faithful reader, I'm Ordinary Times's "least thoughtful writer." So I've got that going for me, which is nice.

Related Post Roulette

12 Responses

  1. Slade the Leveller says:

    A beautiful photo to accompany a beautiful piece of writing. It has a nice elegiac McCarthyian quality to it.Report

  2. Damon says:

    I drove to work today.
    The moon was full and the snow reflecting the light back upwards.
    The trees were covered in ice and snow
    The light equivalent was that of sunrise and I was at least and hour from that.
    It was amazing.
    I wish I could have walked to work….Report

  3. Chris says:

    Ah, I miss being able to walk a bit and feel like I’ve left the world of people for a bit. I envy you. This is wonderful.Report

  4. Saul Degraw says:

    Very nice.

    I like being up early on weekend mornings because the world feels empty like that.Report

  5. aaron david says:

    One of the things that I really noticed when I destroyed my back, was just how much I wanted to walk. One of the little things that really jumped out at me when I started to limp.Report

  6. Mike Schilling says:

    We’ve been in the high 60s. Today, a bunch of us got take-out burritos for lunch and ate them in a park overlooking the Bay, under skies so clear and bright that I missed having sunglasses.

    Oh well.Report

  7. zic says:

    So nice to find peace, and to find how it expands our outlook from the ego of self. At the beginning of your beautiful essay, Sam, you say The other, my oldest daughter, was willing to walk with me and so we left my property for a hike up the road,. After peace has settled on you and your daughter, however, a magical transformation happens, and you say, We stayed for maybe ten minutes and then hiked back down the hill and through the development and down the hill and to our property.

    That subtle pronoun shift reflects the good things peace brings.Report

  8. Michael Cain says:

    I’m looking forward to spring when I can get the bike back out. Within a half-hour ride of my house I can see ponds with old men fishing; a big stream with herons, a bit of white water, and (if very lucky) a beaver; meadows unknown to people who drive everywhere with a chance to see a coyote or fox; and an off chance to see deer, snakes, and prairie dogs. Mostly without leaving my suburb, and when I do leave, it’s into Denver.Report

  9. Mike Dwyer says:

    Beautiful post Sam.

    That was one thing I really missed this winter, with the bad timing to be out of town for the last two of our significant snowstorms. I usually to do my best to get into the woods when there is snow on the ground. In my 39 years I have found no place more quiet or magical. Knowing how similar our states are in topography, this post almost got me there.

    Good stuff.Report

  10. Miss Mary says:

    Wish I was there.

    We’ve had a very early spring in Oregon. It’s been sunglasses, trips to the beach and summer clothes for me. The closest I’ve seen to snow is watching the petals fall from the cherry blossom trees in my front and back yards. I’m trying to appreciate the nice weather but snow has always been magical. And the drought will catch up to us soon. 🙁Report

  11. Will H. says:

    What Illinois would look like if it were Wisconsin.Report