Push Ups & Porches

It was a beautiful day today.  Blue sky's, temperatures in the low 80's with a soft breeze blowing just enought to keep things cooled down. After a back and forth tennis match, a leisurely lunch on the patio at Tito's I decided it was time to brush the dust off Scarlett and take her for a ride.

Rides through the country always remind me of what a great job we do of complicating our lives. Overcrowded malls, cell phones, and simply putting too many things on our agenda to stop and enjoy life. Today I treated myself to a simple pleasure from my childhood.

I stopped at the Bethesda market. Just another small town market, except that it had a small game processing center. The coolest part of stopping for a few minutes was the extra long church pew sitting on the front porch and an orange push up I purchased for 49 cents.  That's Right - 49 cents for a push up.

So I sat on the porch enjoying my push up as the locals drifted in and out over the next 30 minutes. 7 pickup trucks, two ghetto cruisers and one "project car." By project car I mean a vehicle that looked like it was assembled at the Goodwill. Bumpers from one vehicle and quarter panels from another. There was a blue door and a red door with patches of bondo spread strategically along the sides.

I struggle with understanding why we make life so difficult. A lot of it has to do with "STUFF." We covet stuff, we work longer hours to accumulate stuff and then we have garage sales to get rid of stuff.  Just give me a push up and a peaceful Saturday afternoon and I am a happy man.