Smelling The Roses At Midnight (Part 2)

Weight Watchers says that you should eat all your meals free from distraction.  This is surprisingly difficult.  In fact - I've determined recently that I don't do anything free of distraction.  Breakfast is at my desk.  My work day consists of an amalgam of disparate and interruptable tasks.  Lunch with the Seattle Times, the bus with Facebook.  Exercise and chores with music, an audible book, or a movie blaring in the background.  I can sit by myself in peace for approximately five minutes before itching for my next fix of entertainment.
Today I looked up on my break and remembered that I have what may be the best view in any lunch room in Seattle:

Ferries come and go.  The Olympics shine in the background.  Storm fronts can be seen approaching in all their majesty from miles away.  Yes, it's the same every day, but it's hardly an imposition to take 10 minutes away to just stare.
In mourning my inability to run it occurred to me that one of the benefits of doing so was that I ran without distraction.  No iPod.  I had my friends along with me, but on the longer runs we often wound up slightly apart or simply didn't talk much.  My pursuit of ankle health has led me an activity I'm referring to as 'rehabilitative strolling.'  Turns out that while running is totally out of the picture and purposeful walking limits my lasting power I can rehabilitatively stroll for quite some time before needing to stop.
I found the silence to be a little oppressive at first, but have since discovered that my neighborhood is very interesting to look at and that the silence has its own benefits.  It seems that Seattle is taking a collective sigh of relief in the face of summer's immediacy.  Instead of the patter of incessant wind and rain there's the squeaking of rusty push mowers (one of the city's more charming throwbacks) and rustle of people out happily trimming back overenthusiastic greenery.  There are old avant garde houses, brick houses, modern houses and a wealth of odd lawn ornaments including a life sized giraffe and what appears to be a giant metal globe swaying on the end of a none too steady metal rod.
...and I didn't even Facebook it.
For Part 1 click here.
<posted on 6.5.13>