You all know that I love being outside. I often go to a park not too far away that lies along the banks of the Potomac River. It’s a natural area, with lovely paths that go up and over hills and others that follow the river. Still others cut through open fields. It’s lush and green, or open and bare, depending on the season and where you are.
Now that my dog is elderly and, well, in failing health, I tend to take my long walks by myself. It gives me time to sort out my mind, think up blog posts, get some exercise.
It also lets me eavesdrop. Here, you can too!
* * *
At the entrance to a short path that heads upriver for about half a mile, stood a woman looking at her iPhone with irritation. She was surrounded on either side by two men, one of them presumably her husband. The other looked like he might have been her brother.
“This damn UPS app,” she complained “doesn’t say how long the path is OR where it goes!”
But you’ll get a package for your troubles!
* * *
Two men were walking towards me; they had obviously just seen a snake, and since there are loads of them around here, I like to know where they’ve been spotted.
“Yeah,” said the first to his friend, “there are tons of snakes around here.”
My ears perked up.
“You’re right. And it’s you have to be really careful not to step on one,” said the friend.
“Yeah, because when you do, they act like you’ve done it on purpose. Like they don’t even get that you didn’t mean it.”
Ummmm, Guys? It’s a SNAKE, not Disney.
* * *
And just now, on the Sunday before Memorial Day, I heard this:
One tall middle aged guy was wearing a short sleeve flag-motif shirt. 
He was clearly waiting for someone. Finally his friend showed up.
“Did you have trouble parking?” said Flag shirt guy.
“Yeah, the park sure is crowded today,” responded his friend. “I shouldn’t have been surprised. After all, it’s a three day weekend.”
“Yeah, Memorial Day. But, still, why are there so many people here at the park? There isn’t a Memorial here.”
Oy.
* * *
Happy Memorial Day, everybody. Hope that the dopes you run into are at least entertaining!
FiftyFourandAHalf 