Saturday

I was witness Saturday to the wedding of a cherished friend, and it was a privilege to be able to celebrate with her on that day. It afforded the too rare opportunity to connect with absent friends and to lay the foundation with those who might be friends in the future. One instantly acquires an enriched knowledge of a person by moving into their relational sphere. The keen observer knows where to look for clues about a person by looking in a few places. Two of my favorites are what books they have on their shelves and what company they keep. Saturday was a day of celebration, but also of love shared, joy expressed, even spiritual renewal.

But this entry isn't about that. While I enjoyed it and took much from it, Saturday wasn't my day. I mention it only to pay homage to the two around whom it was centered and to preface what was on my mind that night.

I arrived home after a full day aware that I had an early morning and an hour was already lost (with thanks to the Energy Policy of 2005). I should have crawled immediately in to bed, but I instead settled into the chair in my office. Lacking any real goal, I fired up Google Earth (an application that should prove beyond a shadow of doubt there is indeed a higher power). I had recently read a news article reporting that someone believes to have discovered a massive impact crater in Nevada, and I had spent some time discussing with co-workers on Friday the glass-floored skybridge extending beyond the sheer walls of the Grand Canyon (where fear-induced cardiac arrest is yours for the low price of $25). These were in my head as I took in an overview of the United States. However, I didn't zero in on either of these, as I first suspected I would. Instead, my attention wandered from my home base to the area surrounding our nation's capital. Inspiration struck when I discovered full-screen mode, and I zoomed across the Atlantic to Münich.

One of the first things I did upon my return from Germany in October was to look down upon this city and make note of any interesting thing I might have missed during my time there. As I looked upon it again Saturday, I retraced my footsteps from the door of my hotel to some of the more interesting sites, investigating undiscovered side streets as I went along. Fatigue eventually reminded me of where I should be, so I retired after only a few minutes.

With my head settling into my pillow and my eyes adjusting to the dark, my mind was filled with memories from that vacation. The endless beauty of the Bavarian capital, the streets of Rothenburg redolent of a past age, the crush of Saturday afternoon shoppers in Cologne. Me, wandering wide-eyed, listening the constant voice in my mind reassuring me, "You are really here."

It is difficult to find sleep with such images rolling by invoking thoughts of what the future might hold. Then dreams; then the morning.