It was a chilly, if not sunny day to take the Mini out for a
drive along River Road. We stopped at a couple favorite spots to check out the
view and see if maybe we couldn’t find an agate or two. Heather and I both
declared that “the monument” was one of our beloved hangout spots, but we also
agreed that I was there first. Maybe just I agreed to that one.
The monument is a statue above a giant cliff that overhangs
the mighty Mississippi River at the end of Summit Avenue in St. Paul. I may
have written last summer that Mike Tambornino and I once tried to blow up the
giant rock that juts out farthest from the rock-face, back in our fearless,
teenage years. We filled a coffee can with black powder and possibly magnesium,
sealed it and wrapped it in duct-tape, and lit a fuse. The explosion would have
set off car alarms, but they weren’t customary back in the late 1900’s. The
sound of laughter was blocked out by the ringing in our ears as we ran away to
the idling getaway vehicle. The cliff was solidly intact, as it still remains
today.
Briefly, as I stood on that same rock today, I said a silent
prayer for him, as he is no longer with us. He died tragically
last summer, before I had a chance to reconnect with him, and make a much
delayed and necessary amend. I thought of him often on our drive today.
Not to be outdone, I thought of my present life as it is and
my possible future with the woman I love as we wound our way over the blacktop,
and took the steep drive down into Hidden Falls. Staying to the left, we parked
by the boat launch, and we strolled to the beach where we took a few more
pictures, and scouted the shore for gemstones. Yes, the sun was shining
brightly today, but even with the wind to my back, the chill set in, and we
made a hasty departure, with a few small agates in our (her) possession.
As I sit here in my recliner now, at 7:20pm on a Wednesday
night, I am relaxed, grateful, and fulfilled. Currently, my life is filled with
much love and accomplishment, and it would seem it has been as a result of
working through those 12 important steps and listening to a suggestion here and
there. There’s a lot more to it, I suppose, but it really is simple.
And here are a few pictures from our brief adventure today.
That's Heather wayyy up there!
This is the view from on top of the rock that Mike and I tried to blow up.
