Encounters on Katy

The other day I went for a jog with both ears plugged into my music and halfway through the trail, I realized how much I was missing by entirely blocking out the sounds of anyone and anything that surrounded me. In The Creative License by Danny Gregory, he highlights the importance of "being present," to be in the here and now, to stop and listen to the world. I like to think that I try to heed this advice in the way I go about my day, but realizing that by being in my own little world and tuning everything out with my music while amidst hundreds of other people on the Katy trail, I am doing quite the opposite of being present. Granted, exercising can be a very personal thing for most people, a time to get away from everything and focus on nothing but the path in front of you, but going on the Katy trail around 4 or 5 in the afternoon is not the best way to avoid crowds. Needless to say, I plucked one of my headphones out and continued on my way.

A few minutes later, I just about tripped over a cute little kitty who was chillin smack dab in the middle of the trail. He (or she... I wasn't about to check to make sure) seemed to be oblivious to the herds of joggers and bikers swarming the roadways, and made no attempt to rise from his warm spot in the sunshine. There was an older man standing a few feet away, who looked a bit concerned with the cat's well being, so, naturally, I stopped to chat and withdrew from my music completely. I learned that this man's name was Larry, that he knew the woman who was keeping the wild kitty fed, and that they had decided to name him Chico (cute). Larry was amazed that I had stopped to hang out with Chico, he informed me that Chico was the friendliest stray he had ever met, and that he was very close to adopting Chico as his own. Larry did not want to take his future pet away from roaming the brush surrounding the trail, but he seemed very concerned with the safety of the stray cat population on a trail inhabited by bikers zinging past every minute.

I was able to give Larry some hope by telling him that a few summers ago, I adopted a stray kitten that was wandering around the streets of SMU, and brought her back to California to live with my mom. Larry seemed swayed by my story, and promised me that by the end of next week he would make a decision. Larry seemed like an animal lover, like myself, especially after I learned that he came to visit Chico at the same spot almost every day. I said goodbye to my newfound friend and jogged away, smiling. I will definitely be taking out my headphones on a regular basis, with the hopes of meeting more Larry's in life.