Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Late Afternoon on the Wissahickon

I woke up at about 9:45 AM to silence.  No alarm clock.  I had off from work; other than laundry and a run to the bank, I didn't have much to do.  I let my dog into the yard to go to the bathroom and put a bagel in the toaster.  It was nice, not having to rush my breakfast.  Rufus, my dog, peed quickly then ran back to the door wanting to escape the early December cold.  He ate his breakfast as quickly and as noisily as he always does.  He was endearingly goofy.  I let him back in the house, buttered my bagel, and sat down on the couch to eat and watch some TV.  Usually, I watch the news for the weather and traffic.  Not having any reason to leave the house, I started watching yesterday's episode of Dexter OnDemand.  Every Sunday, Dexter and Boardwalk Empire air from nine to ten on different channels, and I always go with Boardwalk Empire

After watching Dexter successfully toe the line between serial killer and regular guy for another hour,  I flipped through a few channels.  Finding nothing worth watching, I threw a load of laundry into the washer.  The thin metal door clanged shut and the hollow machine gave the sound of the water gushing in a hollow quality to it.  I went upstairs into the bathroom and turned on the shower.  A few minutes into my shower, I started singing the Christmas song I had just heard on TV.  "White Christmas".  I think The Santa Clause was on when I turned the TV off.  My attempts at imitating Bing Crosby's voice echoed off of the tiled walls.

After my shower and moving the wash into the dryer, I didn't know what to do.  As I sat on the couch wondering what to do, Rufus ran by, chasing a fly.  I decided to take him for a walk.  It had been awhile, and I enjoyed walking the trails along the Wissahickon.  Rufus always gets too excited to sit still whenever he sees me grab his leash, so I quietly grabbed it and snapped it on to his collar while he was distracted by the fly.  Forgetting the fly, he immediately bolted towards the door.  After what must have seemed ages to him, I opened the door and we made our way back the creek.  We walked along Ridge ave, then turned down Wise's Mill.

I saw no one else on the trail.  It was only about 3:30, so most people were still at work.  I suddenly remembered recently reading the essay "Morning on the Wissahiccon" by Edgar Allan Poe.  I began to wonder what it must have looked like back then.  From the way Poe spoke of it, it was still a fairly secluded area.  Not as traveled as it is today.  By this time of year, the trees are all but bare of leaves.  Maybe not as colorful as the Spring and Summer, but I liked it.  The view of the surrounding area was better without all the foliage.  I was standing on a smaller trail, going along a hill that overlooked the main path and the creek itself.  I stopped for a minute, just to take in the scene.  This was about as close to nature as it got in Philadelphia.  Having long ago learned to tune out the sounds of traffic, it was actually a nice moment.  Geese, presumably headed south, flew and honked overhead.  To my left was a rough patch in the water.  Rufus tugged me further down the path. 

I looked back toward the white swirl of water that caught my attention earlier.  Getting a better look at it, I realized my eyes had played a trick on me.  It was actually one of the heads of the street lights that lined the main path below.  From my higher angle, it looked like it was actually in, not above, the water.  Although the sun was beginning to fade, it was still too early for the light to turn on.  A sigh escaped my lips, and I went home.





This story was inspired by a walk I took back the creek.  I did think the light was part of the water, which was disappointing to me for some reason.  It made me think of Poe's essay, so I went home and read it and found that my experience seemed like a modern version of the narrator in Poe's story.

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