04/26/2013
I like to ride bike around my neighboring areas, there’s so much to take in this time of the year. The beautifully planted flowers, gentle breezes kissing your face, steady sound of my bike tires spinning and making a rhythmic beat accompanying the birds singing and children’s laughter. I’m often found distracted by what seems to be peace on earth. Today was one of those days, so much so, I almost crashed into two cranes walking carefree across the road (Guess they where to busy taking in the sights they didn’t see me or perhaps didn’t care). Either way, they did not ruffle a single feather as I slammed on my brakes snapping out of my day dream. These cranes take their time , I mean they really take their time. UGH, I thought anxious for the darn cranes to move. Finally still I noticed a sign that said “not a turnaround”, down the road, another sign “DEAD END”. Must be a mistake, I’d never noticed this before. Curiously I peddled forward. Truth is I could see the signs from a little ways before I reached the dead end. A car drove passed me down to the dead end sign which EVEN HAD REFLECTORS ON IT! Yet, we still drove down the street. We lingered there staring at the big yellow sign. The folks in the car looked at me pointing in unbelief, I had to smile. Baffled it turned out to be a dead end, they attempted to maneuver a way out. Not before smashing the bushes bordering one house and running over the freshly planted flowers and sod the edging a mailbox across the street. Just like that they sped off, never taking a second look at the mess they left. It reminded me of something I read in class about another sign in Alaska that reads “choose your rut carefully. You will be in it for the next two hundred miles.” The ruts, dead ends, the no turnarounds we allow in our lives can determine our path for what can be a long while. Why we don’t see the signs along the way? I’m not completely sure, maybe it’s an unconscious need to deny something is wrong, maybe its pride, maybe we want to think we are exempt and it doesn’t apply to us even when we see it clear as I did today. Know what I find saddest after getting stuck…not giving a second glance at the gardens of lives being tore up while we are trying to maneuver a way out. I wonder if the car that followed me thought I knew better than the signs in front of us… I’ll never know. One thing is for sure, if all the warning signs point to a dead end, there’s a good reason for it.
