June 18, 2015
(This is part of a 365 project
during my 70th years where I write and illustrate a blog on each
day’s gift.)
Bright fluorescent footprints on a Baltimore sidewalk
tonight called out to me to take a footie selfie. I playfully stepped into the
Bigfoot prints with my shoes and then decided I needed to go with naked feet.
It made me wish that I had painted my toenails the same fluorescent
yellow/green as the painted prints.
Years ago, I had fun with footprints, inspired by Mad Magazine. I was teaching ninth grade
at Benjamin Franklin Junior High School in Baltimore and my classroom had a
huge bulletin board to fill. One of the Mad
Magazine issues had a footprint stencil. I bought a large roll of paper and
a can of spray paint and created a large bulletin board of footprints with a
quote from the magazine, “If you want to leave footprints on the sands of time,
wear work boots.” It was a fun way to get my teacher message across. Then I
waited to see how long it would be before an observant student would notice
that the footprints had six toes! It usually didn’t take too long. It also didn’t
take them very long one day to notice that in my early morning stupor, I had put
on two different color shoes.
On a more serious note, I think about those who have lived before
me and left their footprints. I am grateful for their writing, art, discoveries,
inventions, and especially their wisdom. I have a choice to follow in their
footprints or to make my own. Maybe the best approach is in this quotation:
Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Seek what they sought.” Matsuo Basho
My
gift today is footprints.
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You can find links to my other posts on this project here:
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