Sometimes A Fantasy

While walking last night, Billy Joel's song, "Sometimes A Fantasy!" popped into my head, and part of it (the only part I can remember) goes like this:

It's just a fantasy
It's not the real thing
It's just a fantasy
It's not the real thing
But sometimes a fantasy
Is all you need...

...And that pretty much sums up the idea behind the "virtual" walk doesn't it?

To show that I've not lost touch with reality, however, here is the real thing:



While I walk about a mile or two at lunch time, I do most of my walk during weekdays, after getting home from work and sometimes before dinner. So during December, while the Keys are enjoying 75-80F sunny days, I am "enjoying" being bundled up, wearing heavy gloves and wool hats, 25-30F and very dark, often icy sidewalks.

I try to walk in local neighborhoods with little vehicle traffic, well-maintained, shovelled sidewalks, and working streetlights.



The good news is for December and much of January, the outdoor Christmas lights help chase away the darkness and provide cheer for the walker. This homeowner, however, seems unaware of the global warming problem or the trend to being "green".

Also, in the real world, I cleaned up what I said on the blog about "O Holy Night" so I could read it on Sunday December 16, 2007 during the memorial service. I printed it out, put it in an envelope with a Christmas card and went and visited the young man whom I wrote about's Mom. She lives in an assisted-living "village" even though she is perhaps 55 years old (I did not ask, I have finally learned to never, never, never ask a woman her age along with some other seemly innocent questions.) Life has been rough on her physically as well as emotionally. After spending a few minutes with her, I hand delivered the Christmas card and quietly left. I hope she understands what I was trying to say, she still seems so very... lost.