A Weekend Filled with Gods

A Night’s Stroll on Sundance Square

No one suspects the days to be gods.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

I believe Emerson called that one right, but despite my monster load of grading that endured throughout the weekend, I determined that the chore would not rob me of quality, so I found things to do to keep my mind from dulling as I read paper after paper after paper.

Last night I published a blog about grading alongside the fountain. As the hour grew later, I was pleased to see throngs of people still strolling about. After all, it was a Saturday night, and the temperatures were cooling delightfully. I intentionally omitted him from the photograph posted above, but a street preacher was standing atop a step stool near this clock, delivering a sermon to the passersby. I listened for awhile, sympathetically. Being a preacher myself a long, long time ago, I cannot say that he mentioned anything I haven’t heard throughout my life. And I don’t write any of this to cast a negative light on him. Two police officers were nearby, perhaps to keep the peace. At any rate, I was glad no one verbally abused or accosted him in any way. A few stopped to talk with him, and the conversations seemed irenic. I sat close enough to hear most of the sermon, and wondered if the setting had parallels with first-century Jerusalem or Athens or Rome. I wondered how often Luther heard such public proclamations during his sixteenth-century wanderings through urban settings. I wondered if Shakespeare heard these kinds of sermons along the streets outside the Globe Theater in his day. The longer I sat, the more prompted I felt to write in my journal these ideas about days being filled with gods, much as Emerson wrote.

Waking this morning after a good night’s sleep, my first thoughts again were on “higher laws” (Thoreau’s words).

Coddled Eggs for Breakfast

If I was going to spend the day grading, I at least deserved a decent breakfast before entering the grind. A few hours after breakfast, noticing that the sun was bright and temperatures were moderate, I decided to return to Sundance Square.

On my way into Starbucks for coffee (and grading!), I passed last night’s fountain, and found it full of people! What a way to wash away the heat, eh?

After grading another large chunk of essays, I packed my gear and decided to stroll downtown Fort Worth as I had the evening before. And like the evening before, the city streets seemed to be filled with gods. I drank in the sunshine, sat on shaded benches, scribbled in my journal, and took in the occasional shop. The day was a genuine delight.

Now, as night descends, I have finally finished the grading. I would be in a sour mood had I allowed the grading to fill up my entire weekend, leaving nothing for me to savor. I believe the breaks for Sundance Square strolling were a good decision. Many speak of stopping to smell the flowers; I just chose to stop and feel the gods filling the hours.

Thanks for reading.