On the crisp, cold morning I headed out to the world of downtown and work. By the time I left the house, I had been up for three hours and 15 minutes. At 4:00 a.m. I woke up, and when I hadn’t fallen back to sleep at 4:45 I conceded defeat and got up. There was plenty of time for drinking coffee, doing the usual morning things, and reading a chapter or two.
The post-holiday calm was still in effect and the streets heading to downtown were deserted. With school out for Christmas break and many office workers on holiday, the streets downtown were empty. I found a parking spot on the third level of the garage. After the easy drive to the garage, there was a lonely walk along the empty sidewalks bordering streets free of parked vehicles and traffic. It may have been my favorite commute of the entire year.
Food still life in bark mulch. |
Ten or twelve unopened deli packets and prepared food containers with Hannaford labels were scattered on the bark mulch on a small patch of snow. There were bagels, bread, and a flatbread pizza. I’m sure there is a story to how a full grocery order ended up haphazardly dumped on a sidewalk two miles from the store, and I’m itching to know it. Was someone roughed up while walking from the garage to a downtown dwelling? Did a bag break and the shopper gave up? How long had it been there?
If it hadn't been so cold out, I might have put on a Nancy Drew stylish detective chapeau and stayed to examine the scene more closely. Photograph it from various angles. Forget Nancy Drew and The Secret of the Old Clock, I need to know what happened with Many Dollars Worth of Groceries Dumped on a Sidewalk. It might be less intriguing if the dollar value wasn't equivalent to my weekly grocery budget.
The rest of the day was equally intriguing, but in more of a punishing way. The day dragged. Time stood still at least 50 times. I wasn’t the only to feel it. The other two people working on my floor were also caught in the frozen time vortex. The morning felt like it was a week long. The full workday felt like a month. It was the longest damned day in the history of office work. But back at home, the quiet evening of doing very little flew by. Just another one of life’s cruel little jokes.
The weather has featured an advisory about freezing rain and
icy conditions Saturday from 4:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Sounds like the perfect
morning to stay in and read. I hope tomorrow morning drags as long as this
morning did. Fingers crossed.
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