Pay Attention to the Leaves

Everyone you meet along your travels has a story to tell.  Some tales are exotic, some simple, but all hold a poignancy that rivals the greatest epics of old.  I have spent a number of years collecting these stories, either through having a simple conversation, or merely listening to the memories and the images that they invoke.  They all stay with me, but one of my favorites is the story of Simon.  

I met Simon late in his life.  I never could tell his exact age, but his shock of white hair and impossibly perfect teeth put him somewhere in his late sixties or early seventies.  His eyes were brown and deep and still held the sparkle of his youth, making them true windows to his soul.  He stood only a few inches taller than me, but every fiber in his body was filled with a positive and powerful energy that both exhausted and invigorated me.

The first thing you noticed about him, really, was his laugh.  No matter what the situation was, his laugh was loud, boisterous and completely uninhibited.  It didn’t matter if the situation called for a soft chuckle or just a smile.  If Simon found something humorous, his face would completely transform, and the most engaging laugh would tumble out of him like a cascading waterfall.

It was this laugh that first drew my attention to him.  I was walking my dog, or rather my dog was walking me, and I heard that sound coming from somewhere nearby.  I looked around, trying to pinpoint the sound, while my dog kept insisting that the nearby leaves had to be chased.  Finally I met his gaze.  Simon was sitting on his front porch, a huge smile exploding from his face, his eyes dancing.  Instinctively I gave a quick smile, my eyes searching for the apparent joke.  Breathlessly, he pointed at my dog, who was stalking the nearby pile of leaves, intent on making the kill. 

With my attention wavering between this strange man and my dog, my grip on the leash slackened just a little bit.  Unbeknownst to me, this was the proper signal for my dog to attack.  With a swift and bounding leap, she dove into the pile, scattering the leaves in every direction.  With the glee that only a dog can show, she then proceeded to chase and pounce on the leaves, scattering them all the more.