Serenity Lost

I was loping - I no longer run; I lope - through the this morning, headphones blasting a tune that kept my legs moving. The weather was wonderful; the mud was minimal. Serenity was mine. The usual detritus was everywhere – scree, twigs, branches, rocks, dirt, dead leaves, etc. No problem – that stuff is supposed to be in the woods. I want that stuff to be all over the place. It is what tells me, among other things, that I am “in the woods” when I am running (excuse me, loping). It is this “stuff” that tells me I am not on a sidewalk or a paved road.

In a very short time, however, I had seen, on the trail, four cigarette butts, two empty water bottles and two tissues. Given the very dry nature of the woods these days, discarding the cigarettes was stupid, as well as piggish. The other trash was just piggish. Hey, if you can't keep your litter out of the woods, STAY OUT OF THE WOODS! (To any real pigs who happen to be reading this: I apologize; using the term ”piggish” was unfair to you. Real pigs don't leave tissues, bottles, and cigarette butts in the woods.)