Hey, Someone Was Sitting On MY Bench

When I walk down to the park, halfway through my walk I sit on my bench and contemplate the great truths of life. It's a lonely introspective process, but someone must do it!

Imagine my horror to notice as I approached the sacred bench, someone else was sitting on it! The nerve! What to do? I could find another bench. But it wouldn't be the same. This after all was a bench set a part for my most inner thoughts.

The bench invader was seated on the right side of the bench so I reluctantly sat on the left side. We both stared straight ahead. My strategy was to wait him out. Surely he would soon move on. I waited and waited. But as if he sensed the challenge he refused to move.

That's when an amazing thing happened. He talked! We had a wonderful surprisingly thought-provoking conversation about life, kids, our ideas for the future, the state of the world and the glorious beauty of the day. We were both about the same age and dealing with similar issues of life. I appreciated his perspective and insights.

We both left the bench at the same time and continued our separate walks and lives, enriched by a few moments of serendipitous conversation. So maybe it should be, "The View From The Bench." No, I don't think so...

Tim