When was the last time you sat down, without a care (or hardly one) and thought about "nothing"? Or read a trashy novel for the thrill of it?. Or surfed weird sites for the fun of it? A week? A month? Longer? I cannot remember the last time I did this. For some reason, driving to the loft today, ticking off to Bailey all we
needed to get done I realized that fun is a hard commodity to fit into my schedule. I grab seconds of the wow factor but I don't think I have sat back and done nothing for years.
A week or so ago, the Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey circus train came by - it was the same day that these Vagabond Gypsies came through. It made me think about the very old - showing my age here - stories about running away with the circus. Even just the train made me think about being a little wild, a little free. Maybe, I was just wondering what it would be like to be irresponsible and immature and blindly free. I don't remember what naive felt like. I am not sure I ever was but it sounds alluring in a way. I had a great aunt who did run away with the circus and became a tight rope walker - but she came home. Perhaps everyone does. Perhaps, it is only an adventure - not a way of life for very many.
That is what this group was on - an adventure. First, the dogs were superior in behavior to most I meet. Second, so were the people. These 4 travelers and their pack of canines were "happy". Their English was clear, concise and informed. Their attitude was laid back, they were content with their choices, their decisions, their direction, their heart beats. When the dogs were given dried duck treats, Bailey's favorite, they took them without grabbing, without growling, without pushing the others out of the way and without any stress.
The people were experiencing life. Not the one we are raised to reach for. Not the one we are taught is "right". Not the one that is said to be safe, and secure and stressful. But, the one where you can honestly say I know what you mean when someone says they had it tough. One where you see the world without the demands of what you are supposed to do and instead through the viewfinder of que sera.
I never tried on this view finder of casualness. I envy them a bit in that they found out about them and have tried them on - maybe they fit - maybe they don't. I think the girl Sarawh may wind up to be a vet. Or a musician - from the sound - she channels Janis Joplin. The guy in front with the glasses - the soul of a social worker with a penchant for four legged friends. The guy in back, Jeff, a little shy but his nitch may come in a little different job perhaps printing and the the guy up front probably some type of construction.
Years from now, they may be telling their children or grand children of their great adventure. How they might be the last of a breed who said WAIT - before I make all the decisions about my whole life let me experience some of it.
And maybe, meeting them, I was allowed to look through the viewfinder - for just a second. If you get a chance, go ahead, (no one is watching - no one will know) it is an interesting view.
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