CONTENT: 31 Days of 5-Minute Free Writes

It’s funny that I ended up writing about being uncomfortable with silence yesterday, because I ended up walking almost two miles today in silence.

I participated in our local Old Glory Relay with Team Red White and Blue Tallahssee. We walked the flag across town to show support for veterans.

I had the first leg, and going into the situation, I didn’t completely know the setup.

I was handed my flag and it was time to start walking. I was the only one walking. Two team members were following in a car.

It seemed disrespectful to put headphones on and listen to a podcast … or music … or anything other than the sound of the community around me and the momentum of the thoughts swirling around my head.

If I had had headphones on, I would have missed the conversation with a resident on her porch who asked why we were doing this, and expressed her gratitude for veterans (me too, neighbor, me too).

I would have missed quite a few people walking or cycling on the sidewalks (which is interesting, because I don’t usually consider Tallahassee a very pedestrian-friendly place).

I would have missed people starting their days at local businesses.

I needed that time to think about service members who gave the ultimate sacrifice — Justin Sisson and Matthew England prime among them.