Freedom an’ Whisky
ByNikolyn Williams
We get a lot of visitors down here from time to time. The Caprock Canyon Park draws a lot of them. All different sorts, RV ers tent campers, you name it we get them. My favorites are the back packing bicycle riders. I saw one today, hair tied up with a bandanna, t-shirt that read “come together” on the back. I grinned as he knelt beside “Punkin” the town dog, just scratching “Punkin’s” belly. I love this type of free spirit. So I walked up to him and “Punkin” and said, “ her name is “Punkin” He looked up at me and grinned, and said Hi, I saw the most innocent sparkling sweet young blue eyes. I grinned back and said “where are you from”? “ Lubbock” he answered. I smiled shook my head. He said, “ I came down here on my bike.” “Yeah” I see that, You going to the park?” “Yeah, I am”. “You from around here?” he asked, “Yeah” I answered. “ What do you do?” He asked, I smiled and kind of half chuckled, well same thing I’ve always done, I reckon. “Avoid.” He laughed like he knew what I meant. "you like Whisky?" he asked, "Huh?", I replied. "Your shirt?" "Oh" I said and grinned, "No I don't even drink, Robert Burns was kind of the John Lennon of 17 hundred something. He was a poet." I write a little, it's kind of where I'm at in life right now" I replied. Again he grinned," I figured", he replied. As I began to leave, he looked me right in the eye with those twinkling blue eyes and said. You have a good day. I wanted to tell him, you get on that bicycle and don’t you ever get off. You sleep under the stars, you ride free. You stay free, but I don’t think I had too. I think he already knew that. There are just some things in time and space, that are just…..Well you just know. Some times you can communicate more without even saying a single word.
I'm not sure it is the same for everyone, but for me there came a time in my life recently, when I realized I can’t put a price on freedom and maybe, I a traded a little too much of it when I was younger, for things I thought were important at the time.
There also came a time recently, when I had to walk away from some things, in order to get it all back. Now, the trick is keeping it. There are things, situations, and yes even some people I have to "avoid" in order to protect it. Sometimes I feel the pressure, especially when people ask, “You got that house finished yet?" I think from now on when someone asks that, I’ll envision my new little friend on that bicycle, and smile and say “NOPE!”
Love Always
Nikolyn
