Nights, quiet and otherwise

On Fridays, my husband and I have a standing date at a local bar, The Saloon. It's something to look forward to, and the bartender, a funny, very nice woman, has become a friend. 

Another delightful woman, whom we became acquainted with through dog walks in the park, comes over and take the girls for their evening stroll on Fridays, saving me from rushing home. Tonight, because of a mixup, she didn't show. Happy, frantic greyhounds greeted us when we got home and I took them for a much-needed short stroll.

One of the things I love about winter nights is the opportunity for stillness.  Tonight, the darkness was so crisp and quiet. A dog barked some way off, and up the street, because it was warm-ish,  kids were outside playing. A little bit of traffic noise on the other side of the park, but otherwise windless silence, cold and clear. We made our way around our little half-block walk and I glanced up at one point to see Orion the Hunter in the southwestern sky, the three stars  of his belt lined up in a shiny diagonal.

It is so nice to be able to be outside in the dark and feel safe. Just as nice is to look up in the night blackness and see an old friend, constant in structure, finding his new place in the evening sky.

As a contrast...

Noisy bar, hoops tournament games on TV ( I LOVE March Madness), heads bent towards each other, ears cupped, sentence fragments heard, then .... "what? I missed the first part of that."

It's been a good early hoops tourney season for Pittsburgh. Pitt, Robert Morris and Duquesne all are deep, if not winners of, their conference tournaments. That is awesome for the Dukes, who have been awful for so long. When Carl & I moved to Pittsburgh in the early 80s, he didn't have a full-time job so he did a lot of stringing for the wire services. Mostly Duquesne and the Penguins. Both were awful at the time. And, the game, in the broader sense, was a lot different then. Not so much money was involved. I went to some of the games with him and sat right behind the press table. Freezing! At least the basketball games were. Because the teams were playing on top of ICE! Eek.

It was fun, though. We were young and poor and what the hell, games for free!

Different now. Older. Comfy (sort of). More of a mind to watch on TV than attend. But with March Madness, who cares? Park in front of a screen and you are guaranteed four or five hours (not that I dot it) of fabulous college  basketball. And, best comparison between the 80s and now? Its men and women. They are all awesome. All this from someone who went to one (that I can remember) football game at Ohio State as a student. Funny how we all grow up.

Friday at the Saloon, the games were on, people were happy and talking. I decided to ask two women across the bar if I could take their picture. Both lovely ladies, they agreed and we chatted for a few minutes. Allyson gave me her card and an impromptu speech on doing something that you love for a living. She's right! Not all of us are blessed with a passion and a gift, but still, better to be trying for something you love (and I think that is the artistically challenged me) than to live in a drudgery that feeds only your body, not your soul.

Allyson and Barb were so gracious, they let me take their picture and it is included in this post. Allyson is on the left.