Two Walks
Rising early has its advantages, chief among them the chance to take two walks before breakfast.
My first was before 6:00 a.m., air still cool, crows still running the place. Their caws say “danger, danger, danger,” but not for me. I hear jays and hawks, too, plus the rise and fall of midsummer cicadas.
The second walk was a purposeful stride from Oakton High School to the Vienna Metro Station. It’s the closest place to park and not pay, so when the morning is luscious and I have the time, I walk the mile instead of driving it.
The sights and sounds are different: Instead of crows I hear the whoosh of traffic noise, and the hawk’s cry is replaced by the shrill grind of metal-on-metal as a train lumbers into the station.
But these are quibbles. It’s Monday. It’s morning. And … two walks are better than one.
(I took this en route to the Vienna Metro some years ago. The trees look like they’re walking, too.)
