Waking up on the right side of the grass in Glendale, Arizona


It's been cold and rainy in Glendale lately, which is unusual, so I've avoided doing much walking. But today, in spite of the cold wind, it was sunny, so I ventured out to do my morning walk, which totals to about 1/2 mile. I live near the northwest corner of the original Sahuaro Ranch, and a couple of decades ago a McDonald's was built just about half a block further on, so I like to walk there, get some coffee, and walk back. I usually take the shortest route there, and then a longer route back (I call that a "long-cut"). On my walk back I amble a bit and ponder this and that.

If you've ever walked around suburban Glendale, you know that there are very few people walking. In the early morning I see the kids walking to school, but after that the sidewalks are pretty empty, especially in the neighborhoods. There really aren't very many cars, either, off of the main streets. So while it's not as scenic as say, walking along the beach, at least it's quiet and peaceful. And most of the people that I do see seem to be slightly surprised to see someone walking. I understand.

Today as I was walking back home I saw a man who appeared to be going to get into his car, which was parked on the driveway. He stretched a bit, and then turned around. I smiled and said "Good morning, nice day!", which I've usually heard followed up with a similar cheerful statement. But then he said something like "woke up on the right side of the grass today!"

My first thought was "huh?" - like most of my neighbors he had desert landscaping, so he wasn't talking about grass, and then it hit me. I stopped, turned around, smiled and simply asked him how old he was. He was glad to tell me that he was 75. I told him that my birthday was next month, and on that note we wished each other well and I rambled on.

It's nice to wake up on the right side of the grass in Glendale, Arizona!
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