Tonight after dinner my wife and I decided to take a walk. It’s the first walk of this year. We’ve been walking up and down these streets in our village for nearly a quarter century. Small town America has it’s blessings and this is one of them. We live on a hill and the walk into the village is always easy. Walking is much more contemplative than driving because we are moving slower and more deliberately that when we drive. We walked a couple of miles and we stopped to enjoy the site of emerging leaves and flowers. On our walk we “bumped into” a couple of friends and we began to visit. Our visit covered many topics including local and national topics. It was great to see them and to renew our friendship. Our conversation lasted until the sunset was complete and we returned to our home refreshed and rejuvenated. As we finished our walk we looked upward and saw the beautiful stars and maybe even a planet. It’s just good to be alive and well and I thank God for that.