Author: Maria Johnson

surprised by a smile: a commute made better

This morning I was caught in that nasty rainy-ish weather that makes everybody forget how to drive. I grumbled for miles, put out by the misery of red lights reminding me that my 25 minute commute was going to be more like 45 minutes.

And then, this at a red light:

smile

I didn’t even care that the truck’s owner was looking at me in the rear view mirror while I took picture after picture — trying to get a good shot. He probably thought I was trying to get his tag instead of the best bumper sticker ever.

The message changed my mood immediately.

I’ve been working on a brief talk for my parish this week, and I’ve been reading Mother Teresa’s writings in preparation for delivering a 5-minute reflection. It’s all there, in the smile, and the message. I love that pop culture swipes its copy from the Saints.

Let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love.
Mother Teresa

Fresher than Fresh: A New Tulip

tulip

This week’s Daily Post photo challenge, fresh, comes just in time for spring. There’s a little bit of rain falling, just enough to get things a little misted, and it changes everything. The dull dustiness of early spring — there’s no real color yet — covers everything in pollen. A little rain freshens things up again. The grass is just starting to wake up, and while there are lots and lots of flowers blooming, leaves and leftover wintry shrubs still dot the landscape.

dandelionThe scent of spring, wet and fresh, fills my nostrils and transports me back to my childhood. The honeysuckle isn’t in bloom yet, but oh boy — soon. Soon!

I admit that my tastes, and my wallet, have matured a little and I can indulge myself in the beauty of tulips, but I have a confession to make ….

This is my favorite sign of spring.

another brick in the wall

“Her heart was a secret garden and the walls were very high.” ― William Goldman, The Princess Bride
“Her heart was a secret garden and the walls were very high.”
― William Goldman, The Princess Bride

Here’s a wall down a side street in New Orleans. I’d been enjoying the beautiful flowers everywhere, how lovely and festive everything was, and then I encountered this empty wall.

But it’s not empty. It has a little mold growing on it, and then there’s that light. I don’t think it works. But maybe it does.

There’s something about a wall. It can keep things out, or keep things in. Robert Frost says it makes good neighbors, or something like that. Maybe it was fences he was talking about. It’s all the same.

I’ve been known to put up walls, and keep them up. The secret is they’re scalable. Or if you really try, you’ll find the secret passage and walk through.