Reasonable.

There are words which I have encountered that stay with me...they guide me...they provide me with structure for the way I want to live. 

"Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle." 

I recently shared some good news with family and friends. They were all happy for me, with the exception of one person. Her negative comments caught me off guard. My initial reaction was to counter with some unkind words of my own. Instead, I bit my tongue and delved further into the conversation. It turns out that there was more going on. Those words were a mask for other emotions, ones that would never have been recognized without patience and the understanding that there was a situation with which she was struggling. 

Too frequently, people jump to conclusions. Too frequently, people are on the defensive. It might not be convenient or easy, but next time, give someone the benefit of the doubt.

Canada Geese are Foul

Canada Geese are everywhere. I don’t recall there being so many of them when I was a kid. Perhaps their population has swelled because they have few natural predators. My disdain for them began in college. As a member of the crew team, I spent countless mornings on the dock with a large broom, sweeping geese shit into the river. Yes, the Schuylkill is full of Canada geese shit, amongst other things I’m sure.


And so the thought crossed my mind around Thanksgiving time (perhaps it was the Turkeys that put the idea into my head). I started to wonder if Canada Geese are edible. A quick google search provided me not only with the answer, but also with several recipes.

And then I thought about all of the hungry people in the United States. The last time I looked at the statistics, hunger in America exists for over 50 million people. That is 1 in 6 of the U.S. population (including 1 in 4 children).

If Canada Geese are in abundance and considered to be a nuisance by many...well, you see where I am going with this...is it really that illogical?



* I had been holding on to this one for nearly four years. After my recent experience on the DnR Canal Trail, it was time to let it go.

prologue

From the moment I discovered I could ride my bike from Trenton to New Brunswick I looked forward to this day. The plan was to ride my bike from home to the Haddonfield PATCO Station and take it to Broadway in Camden. From there I would transfer to the River Line and take it to Trenton. Once in Trenton, it was a mile or so to the DnR Canal Trail, then 36 miles to New Brunswick, where I planned to spend the night and reverse my trip the following day.  

I arrived at The Walter Rand Transportation Center in Camden several minutes before the next scheduled train. This was my first time visiting Camden alone and thankfully it was day time. I purchased my ticket and stood on the platform. It smelled like pee and I was the only person who spoke English. A man with a plastic shopping bag full of Greek Yogurt containers was engaged in an intense conversation (in Spanish) with the woman standing next to me, who had given me a puzzled look when I asked her a question (in English) a few minutes prior. 

The train arrived and I boarded, hung my bike and sat in the seat next to it. After a dozen or so stops (still can’t beat the one way $1.50 fare) I was in Trenton. My biggest reservation about this adventure was finding my way from the train station to the trail because Trenton wasn’t somewhere I wanted to be lost on my bike. I ended up taking a wrong turn, but was really close and a woman who was walking pointed me in the right direction. 

I grabbed a drink, popped in my ear buds and started pedaling. A few minutes later I encountered my first Canada Goose. It hissed at me as I rode by...not a big deal, there are plenty of geese on the banks of the Schuylkill and I never thought twice about them. Then there was another...this one hissed and came at me...spread it’s wings and charged...I unclipped (just in case I had to kick it) and screamed as loud as I could (like a big ROAR!) and the goose backed off...34 more miles of this, I thought to myself...this is going to be a long day. Thankfully, the geese became less aggressive as I made my way on the trail past Trenton.

this old man

There was this old man who came to the gym at the same time every morning. His son dropped him off. He would ride the recumbent bike and lift some weights. When I finished my yoga podcast, I would engage in casual conversation with him. He would always marvel at my balance and told me that he too, worked on his balance because at his age, falling down was a concern. I know that he was 92 years old, a Korean War Veteran and that he liked dancing. Most of the time, we would talk about the same thing, but it didn’t matter much to me. I haven’t seen the old man in several months. I don’t even know his name. I wonder if he is ok.