Morning walks again

I started back to taking morning walks. I needed to get some exercise and first thing in the morning seems like the only time that's consistently available. I do about three miles. Today I took the route that had the steeper uphill sections. That was maybe better exercise but it also gave me longer stretches of downhill. I like going out early before it gets light. It's very quiet then. Usually I don't see any people but there are animals about. This morning I saw came upon two groups of deer.

This has also been a bad week of health news for friends of mine. Two people with scary news. One is looking more hopeful now. For the other it's too early to tell.

Three times on the walk this morning a street light went out just as I got near to it and began to come back on just as I passed. That had a feeling of portent. If so, I'm counting on the light coming back on to be a good sign.

Requiem

Yesterday evening I went to hear a concert by the Handel Choir of Baltimore. It featured pieces by several composers but the program was built around an Organ Suite and a Requiem by Maurice Duruflé. I had never heard of Duruflé, let alone heard any of his music. It was very beautiful and the performance was magnificient. I had known of the Handel Choir but had never been to any of their concerts. A co-worker invited me to it through Facebook and I'm glad of that. I'll be keeping my eye on their concert schedule in the future.

It's hard to hear a requiem without thinking about friends and family I have lost. There were several this year. Sometimes when I am thinking about those who are gone, I take a moment and try to recall their voices. Often I can remember actual sentences. Usually it's something happy or something very sad. Rarely anything in between. In many cases I can hear the way the person laughed. It's comforting to be able to do that. It keeps them close.