Word Like Gold

Driving around town early this morning at that special time in between when dark relents to light, when dark is before you but a hint of the sun shimmers off in the distance...I drove on to catch the last light of Christmas. I raced the rising sun to make my way down to the marina to hit all the hot spots.

The lights were as beautiful and lifting as I thought they would be. What I didn't bank on was the memories that would surface. As one mile connected to another, melancholy poured over my shoulders and down into my soul. Memories good and bad, mostly bad, settled in and defeated my delight.

As I drove on it became harder and harder to think of anything good. It was like the dark melted off the sky and leaked right into me. I was weighted with gloom. Then I took a turn. As I pulled into my neighborhood I saw something that meant something. Our small cut through road was lit up like an airport runway. Not because of Christmas lights, mind you, no it was because I stood down city hall and they lined off our street and marked those lines with reflective lights every 12 1/2 feet.

When I first moved into my townhome in 2013, I promised my elder neighbors I would fight for them to get the city to pour a speed bump or something, anything to slow down the speeding traffic. I kept my word and fought that fight for ten years. Finally, and unfortunately a man died on our street speeding through while drunk. He jumped a small curve and went through a neighbor's fence.

That was the last straw because I had just said to a secretary downtown the week before, "What's it going to take to get help? A death on our street?" Outraged, I used my old journalistic know how and called the T.V. station. I pitched the story and a young reporter with a hankering to get things done showed up for interviews and told our story. And voila! We now are the proud owners of a new runway road.

I was glad I kept my word. Glad I made a small difference in my community. I have a dark side I wrestle with sometimes, like everybody else. But then there's this side. She makes me proud to know her. And thankful she found a way around her demons to let some light in.