Morning in Sun City Anthem

Morning in the Valley    

I'm an early bird, often getting up around 4:30am because I love the quiet at that time of the day; watching the moon descend beneath the mountains, while his sister, the sun, makes her appearance in the eastern skies.

Up she goes, minute after minute; the temperatures slowly rise, and soon humans make their appearance as they walk or jog down the street, often with their dogs enjoying joint constitutionals.

The earth is coming alive with all of its many creatures just as it has for billions of years.

And as I watch all of this enveloping, it makes me think, it gets me to reflect, and even more importantly, it allows my wife to get a good night sleep !

My job is making the coffee, getting the newspaper, and taking out the garbage. 

Hers is putting up with me in between mah jongg and pan games.

Life has taught me that making conversation to a woman at 5:00am is VERBOTEN....as are other methods of amusement as we get on in years.

So off I go, often to the computer and get ready for a new day.

There are moments when I realize how fortunate I am that I've never had a serious illness, take no pills, and the last time I was in a hospital, my tonsils were being removed.

So I'm going to give all of you some sound advice about something that we all take for granted.....LIFE...its beauty....how short it is, and what's out there ABSOLUTELY FREE OF CHARGE....if you'll just take a few moments to see it.

It seems that the longer we live, the more there is left to do that hasn't yet been done...so...start doing it TODAY.

And a good starting point is getting a travel mug filled with coffee, putting on a jacket, and taking a walk through this lovely community and enjoying the majestic beauty that surrounds it...

 ...and when you walk past another person, be the first to smile at them and say "Good Morning."  It feels GREAT.

This is what I saw this morning...a portrait Da Vinci never painted, nor Monet ever "impression..ed."

It was LIFE. and it told a story...a story of a beginning that within a short few hours would have a dark ending...a day in my life, one remaining day that only God knows how many will still be available.

But now it was LIFE, and as I walked down the street with my camera, looking at the mountains,  this thought entered my head....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hw3oxJvSRj0

The sounds of the earth really were music; and I could envision Gordon MaCrae on a horse....trotting through the green fairways of Revere golf course beneath me....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21-KOpdwySw

Then it was time to go home, to my wife; and as I opened the door, there she was, still asleep, lying there as she has been for 26 years; and I realized something I always knew, but all too often took for granted...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0g56qW28t8

And so, for those who will be fortunate to arise tomorrow morning, DO SOMETHING A BIT DIFFERENTLY.....appreciate it, appreciate that special person in your life, and appreciate the beauty only a Supreme Being could provide.

Take that walk, then come running through that front door with a new attitude, walk up to the special someone of yours and let her have it !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3c8wS5txFo

It's the best start anyone could ever imagine, because LIFE is a GIFT meant to enjoy, and share that warmth with all that you meet.

Dick Arendt