Good Day

I'm at my parents' place in Markham, Ontario, right now, ostensibly for my mom's 65th birthday, but also escaping the stresses of my life in Halifax for a short recharge. Yesterday I biked over to Stouffville to see my sister Erika's family and their new house.

It was such a nice day and a beautiful ride. A flat, straight road under a giant, cloudless sky. Lots of lush marsh- and farmland between the two towns, once you get past the latest ugly developments, which extend a bit farther north every year. But there were birds greeting me the whole way, and then I saw a small airplane pulling a glider ahead of me.

The two went back and forth a few times, and I wondered whether the glider would eventually be let go to continue on its own. Eventually I noticed the motored plane over to my left, and couldn't make out the glider with it. I searched the sky ahead, left, right, and behind, but couldn't find it. I'd just convinced myself that the other plane WAS the glider, when a large shadow passed over me from behind, making the hair stand up on the back of my neck.

I looked straight up, and there it was, silently coasting right over my head. It was so slow and beautiful and free. I pulled over to the side of the road and got off my bike to watch it. The sun was also directly above, so I had to shade my eyes quite a bit to see it, but it circled around me four or five times before heading off in the direction I'd seen the other plane in. I couldn't tell whether the people in the glider were actually communicating with me or not, or even whether they could see me, but I waved to them. It was kind of a mystical experience. I felt happier than I have in a long time, and in a way that I haven't since I was a kid.