Usually, I go straight home after work. But this evening, I find myself sitting here, on a park bench.

My wife told me that I bring my work home with me and take my frustrations out on her and the kids, that I need to mellow out before coming in the door. That’s why I’m sitting here, now.

There are many tall oak trees, rose bushes, and hedges that surround the park. Many leaves change to autumn colors, making the scenery more beautiful.

Men are working in the park, picking up trash that people have thrown on the ground.

Some are raking up leaves as kids run through a pile, scattering leaves on the ground again.

While sitting here, on the bench, a few ducks waddled over for a visit and some food. Having had a sandwich left over from lunch, I fed it to them.

A couple of kids are playing tag with each other. A pair of lovers pass by, holding hands and stopping (every so often) to kiss.

There are two people rolling around the park in electric wheel chairs. They did not seem to notice those of us who’ve looked at them, while often stopping to look at a bird or feed the ducks. They probably thought that we were the ones that were handicapped, not them.

Watching all this around me relaxed me and I closed my eyes. I could smell the water, off the lake, as the wind blew. The birds were chirping high in the trees, above.

My dream started with seeing an old man, sitting on a park bench, watching his grandchildren playing in the park to be with them for as long as he could. The one person, with whom he had spent many years together, was gone. Now, he watched his grandchildren grow up, by himself. All he had left was time.

In looking at his hands, he noticed the wrinkles of what use to be strong hands. Running his hand over his head was a reminder that not much hair was there anymore. Sometimes, he felt very tired. But, he kept going for the grandkids. The good news is that he did not, yet, have to use a cane to help him walk.

A duck came up and took what bread was left and a part of my finger, too. So, I guess my dream was over, as that brought me back to reality in a hurry. I jumped up, shook my hand, stuck my finger in my mouth, and made a field goal with the duck.

The dream had just hit me between the eyes. I wondered how time could have flown by that my wife, my kids, and I did not spend time together doing things.

My wife would be going to work by the time I would get home. We would say ‘Hi, Goodbye, I love you’ all in one breath. We wanted nice things in life, like everyone else. But, it seemed that all we did was work and go to bed.

Realizing what I had to do, I told the duck ‘I was sorry I had kicked his feathers off’ and, hurriedly, started walking home. Then, running up the steps to the house, I opened the door, told the kids ‘hello’, and to get their coats on.

Next, I went into the kitchen; where the wife had bills laid out (on the table), along with the check book. I walked over and took the bills to the trash can, and dropped them in.

I told her to put her coat, on as we were going out, then announced we were going to the park. The kids could play tag and play with the ducks. Mom and I were going for a walk, around the lake, and take our time.

© 1994 by Robert H. Gilbert, Jr. RGBLUEBOY@aol.com