2.4.12 A Bridge to Tomorrow

Though a dreary day, or at least the dreary start of a day, since often the day brightens up after my early morning stroll, I wanted to present this view of the Merriam St. Bridge, seen from St. Anthony Main: the portal of entry for most visitors to the island. As you cross the bridge, the Nicollet Island Inn greets you on your right, while to your left stands the Nicollet Island Pavilion building and the southeastern tip of the island.

The southeastern tip of the island, if you recall, is where, one day early on in the life of this blog, I found a Christmas ball and hung it on a tree branch, only to find, after about a week, that it had vanished. It is also where, some time after that, I found two Christmas balls and hung them on a branch, where they remain hanging to this day. Some things endure, while others don't.

The southeastern tip is also where, only a few days ago, I discovered that someone had painted this piece of shoreline detritus with an inspiring message, visible from the Central Avenue Bridge. My camera's zoom feature doesn't really convey how far away I am when standing on that bridge, but it is quite a distance away, and I am looking down from a pretty respectable height.

Today I am selling off most of the large items that remain in my former residence, thanks to craigslist. The shedding of my former life, along with most of its material encumbrances, is nearly complete, and I look forward to the day, not long from now, when I no longer have to visit that former residence and attend to its final homeownerly demands--when I can remain here on the island, savor the pleasures it affords, and pursue the interests that most enrich my existence--that fill it with the greatest possible degree of satisfaction and joy.

I can hardly believe the nature of this year's winter, and choose to believe that Mother Nature has seen fit to ease us into this new location as painlessly as possible, to lighten the burdens we might have faced when traveling to and fro by blessing us with one of the mildest (if not the mildest) Minnesota winters on record. And I can hardly believe that Spring will soon be upon us, a time when the beauty of the island will burgeon and flourish, and I can discover on my daily walks all the treasures that a new season has to reveal.

Life flows on, in and around us—and sometimes there is a bridge right before our eyes, waiting to usher us into a new and life-changing reality, if only we have the will and the wherewithal to cross.

D.E.S.