A belated birthday lunch and a hike
are scheduled for today,
exploring the Quarry Trail near
the historic cemetery in Jacksonville.
We are meeting for lunch.
My favorite Thai restaurant is For Sale.
We head for another Asian restaurant
hungry for Vegetable Curry.
Our conversation circles around
recent events and travel,
necessitated
by the loss of her mother-in-law.
Her son and my daughter were
there to help with the celebration of life,
and to comfort her husband in this time of grief.
Briefly we talked about the upcoming holiday,
preparations to be made and help needed,
and how wonderful it will be to have the ‘kids’ home.
After lunch we head for the hill
that leads up to the cemetery,
we are both getting short of breath
and shed our coats.
We laugh
about the little aches and pains
we try to hide from each other
on our hike.
Following the Quarry Trail,
we see the highway in the valley below,
cars appear so small that they seem to fit
between thumb and forefinger.
Shrub oak in their yellow-brown dresses,
denuding maples and
broad-leaf, almost leafless, sycamores
occupy the hillside.
My hands are finally warm
and my breath is coming more evenly
as I follow Laurie up the path.
An opening in the fence
invites us to enter the cemetery.
I learn interesting tidbits about local lore
from Laurie and from reading the tombstones.
Separate areas of the cemetery
tell about past segregation of races and religion.
They were dedicated to Catholics, Jews, German and Redmen,
Chinese, Oddfellows, Masons, and other groups.
We stop at my favorite view point
overlooking Jacksonville
and, in the distance,
Roxy Ann towering above Medford.
The sun is warm on our backs
as we are heading back to the cars.
We stop at the bridge
and notice that Jackson Creek
is finally carrying water.
Hiking Poet 