It was an idyllic Florida morning as they sat on Miriam’s front porch swing, sipping coffee and delighting in the 70° temperature. Grady was in a freedom all his own. Miriam was in her closet, albeit the door was open slightly.
Miriam spoke first. ‘Remember that day a few years back around this time of year when it was so cold it almost snowed, and it rained so hard it flooded parts of the neighborhood?’ Grady thought to himself, ‘On this totally spectacular day, why would anyone want to recall anything distasteful? Why would they not choose instead to enjoy the present surroundings as much as possible?
He finished his coffee and just wanted to take a walk – alone. He knew that any words spoken to Miriam would end up in some misunderstanding and time would be wasted trying to explain how he just wanted to fly, soar, dream, exult . . . and not have to try to explain how negativity had any place in this perfect morning.
‘You don’t want to talk today?’ Miriam asked. Of course Grady wanted to talk. Of course Grady wanted to be a gentleman and share his time with his very best friend. But a few minutes earlier he received an elegant invitation from the Infinite to climb a ladder, to get into a glider, to become a cloud, to become wanderlust, to find a higher Freedom. An undertaking he believed had merit.
Miriam announced, ‘I’m going to go clean the kitchen.’ She arose, a tad abruptly, picked up the two cups and headed inside. The descent for Grady was a great distance, but it happened almost instantaneously.
The dirty dishes had won. The ladder back in the garage. The glider in its hangar. The cloud disappeared. The wanderlust – nonexistent.
Grady acknowledged his heartbreak to himself of wanting to share every breath the morning had to offer with Miriam, but now that possibility was erased. He could think of no words to say that would have any value whatsoever. Tears came to his eyes.
The Infinite 