When we all grow up

When we all grow up

If you’ve ever driven on I-20 in Atlanta, in the mornings,
 you know that it can be a nightmare,
 bumper to bumper traffic, on this brisk day,
 as I head into my office,
post covid, working a hybrid schedule, which is fine by me.
 Although if I had my way,
I would just work from home.
As I sat in traffic, with the radio turn to NPR,
in the background,
depending on my mood sometimes,
 it will be on WCLK, the jazz station.
To my right there is construction going on, as I glanced up,
the amber glow of the tree tips came into view.
I used to drink coffee, but now just herbal tea, but
I didn’t have a cup in the car this morning.
A drive that would normally take thirty minutes, during
normal days, will take me forty-five minutes, sometimes,
an hour.
But the drive allows me to hear the stories of real people,
 dealing with real issues, in a real world from
across the American landscape and of course
internationally.
Somedays, I will ride in silence, loss in my on
 thoughts and imagination.
On this day, as I listen to the stories shared on NPR,
the thought occurred to me, in the form of a question.
What do people really want? Most of us want more money,
more time with family and friends, more freedom, and yes more sex,
yeah, more sex, if you don’t
then you don’t know what you’re missing.
But I digress, in a world beset, with all sorts of problems,
from poverty, sadness, hopelessness, war, homelessness,
and despair.
My wife and I often say that everyone has a story,
imagine, if we took the time, to listen to each other’s,
stories, what kind of world it could be.
As my mind came out of its state of solitude, and meditation,
and I was brought back to my drive along I-20.
In that instant, a second question came to me,
What kind of people we could be?
When we all grow up.