You can learn more about this 20 min. a Day Exercise, and why I think the experience can provide interesting opportunities for Writing Prompts, in the Introductory Post, and then follow the link, at the end of each post, to the next chapter.
Yesterday was Day 2 and, unlike the 1st day, I stuck to the 20 minute Rule!
Question #2 = What is the Current Phase of the Moon?
According to the site where I found the above picture the answer is that it was a Waning Crescent (Only 8% Full).
Quote to Ponder:
If Spring came but once a century instead of once a year, or burst forth with the sound of an earthquake, and not in silence, what wonder would be in all the hearts to behold the miraculous change."
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
I arrived at my Spot at 1140am, and settled in to observe the scene, and ponder the thoughts of ol' Henry, with the sound of children laughing, and talking, wafting up from the trails hidden in the creekbed below me.
The pictures in this post were taken along the Bike Trail as I headed off to work after my visit.....
This is what I wrote:
It's cool, breezy, and cloudy, as I sit here pondering the words of Longfellow.
How people today would react to a Spring that announced itself like an earthquake depends, I suppose, on where they lived, and the size of the quake.
In rural communities, where buildings were sturdy, though scarce, I imagine people would take the yearly season of shaking in stride, and rejoice in the beauty of the season, especially if the rumbling was light, developing stories, legends, religions, celebrations, and more around the season.
In urban areas, early on in the history of mankind, I'd imagine the terror would have been great, no matter the power of the quakes, as buildings would not have been able to withstand the shaking.
As time went by mankind would, of course, develope the ingenuity to build structures strong enough to withstand the strongest shaking.
Stories, legends, religions, celebrations, and more would develope around the season.
Of course, there would be those folks, in both regions, who would claim to have more "enlightened" takes on the happenings, based on "science" and "reason", and be considered the Atheists of their cultures until proven right, or wrong, and if right then society would no doubt change in many ways.
If Spring came just once a century, arriving, and departing, as it does for us today...
I imagine everything surrounding the season would then really take on all the trappngs of religion.
The mysteries, stories, legends, celebrations, customs, laws, and even Human Sacrifice in some cultures, that such a way of responding would cause would be specific to the reagion of the plan.
They would evolve over time, staying the same, changing, or even disappearing completely, in some places, as a more "enlightened" way of thinking took hold based on science, and reason.
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At noon I rode my bike down the Santiago Creek trail, including through Hart Park, to catch the bus to work, and took pictures of flowers, trees, and squirrels...lots, and lots of squirrels!
I took 14 pictures of the little darlings, but only one came out clear enough to use because the critters were nice enough to sit still long enough for me to get a focussed shot! ;-D
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