Foot-travelers see the world a different way...
So I met Anne Lamott yesterday. Well, not really, but maybe it could have been her sister. You see, there is this creek that runs through our neighborhood and I noticed some cat tails growing in it. I decided to walk over and grab a few. The reason being (and i don't know if it really works) is that if you light the ends of them they burn like a candle and keep the bugs away. They smell nice too. So as I'm passing by the creek I notice this young woman perched on a railroad tie and leaning against the wooden fence of a neighbor's backyard. She had tucked herself away beside the creek for some shade and a smoke break. I said hi and walked on a little further down the creek to collect the cat tails. I grabbed a handful and passed by her again as I was leaving. This time she spoke up first and asked me my name. Her name was Renee, not Anne. She had blond dreadlocks, traveled on foot, and was an environmental activist going door-to-door in our neighbor asking for support. Needless to say, after a short conversation I ended up giving $15 to The Texas Campaign for the Environment. You can check them out at Texas Environment. The irony of the story is that during our nice discussion about protecting the environment I'm pulling up cat tails and she's smoking. Two steps forward one step back I guess.
