Sunday Afternoon Magic

 

"Sunday afternoons are filled with long, lovely hours

that fill the soul to repletion

and which pass all too quickly."

--Ralph F. Couey

Copyright © 2021

by Ralph F. Couey

I should tell you up front that I am fully aware that a major winter storm has marched across the United States, and is right now in the process of burying the Mid-Atlantic and New England states.  Having lived through four blizzards and shoveled up to 39 inches of snow more than once, trust me, I do feel your pain.

However.

For the first time in 20 weeks, there was no football today.  The excitement and tension of the season-long tournament and the frantic "one-and-done" nature of the playoffs was notably absent today.  The opponents in the Super Bowl have been set (GOOO CHIEFS!!!!).  Much of the folderol accompanying The Big Game has been eliminated by COVID requirements.  So, there remains for us fans, merely to while away the hours until next Sunday. I had good luck with traffic and found myself at the east end of O'ahu about 15 minutes ahead of schedule on my commute to work.  Rather than report **too early** I decided to engage in some vegging out time.

When I worked nights, I did my walks in the morning, starting at Kapiolani Park and walking all the way to Ala Moana and back.  I did this not just for the exercise, but to avoid the torture of traveling Honolulu freeways during rush hour.  By the time I completed my 6-mile jaunt, the traffic was clear enough to ensure a timely return home.  During that time, I acquired a real affection for the area.  I would park in a free lot on the north side of the park, and after rounding the eastern point, walked through Waikiki on Kalakaua.  Waikiki is what you'd expect, tons of tourists, a sky shrouded by high-rise hotels and apartments relieved by the stunning stretch along that legendary beach.  I don't have the time available to do that walk very often any more, but I have gone back to that parking lot on occasion when I have some time to kill.

Kapiolani Park was originally a horse racing track, to indulge King David Kalakaua's passion.  The wide-open space remains, and if you look carefully around the west end of the park, you can still see the berms that supported and leveled the track.  Nowadays, it's a magnificent greenspace, sitting between the loom of Diamond Head, and Kuhio Beach, the eastward extension of Waikiki.

Today was gorgeous.  The temperature was a delightful 77 degrees with a gentle northeast trade blowing.  The sky was a dome of deep blue, broken by a few cumulous clouds.  This is my favorite time of year here in Hawai'i, so much better than summer's humidity enhanced by the powerful rays of a sun shining on a latitude 1,600 miles closer to the equator.  

I parked the Mustang, and walked around to the front of the car where I (carefully) leaned on the hood.  As I looked across the massive greenspace, I relaxed and took in that singular Sunday afternoon feeling.

Sunday afternoons have always been special.  Being the last day of the weekend, it contains the remaining hours of relative freedom before the arrival of the work week.  Because of that, people like to take that time for relaxing.  Saturday becomes for many a day of errands and chores -- more work that you don't get paid for.  But as Sunday afternoon passes, and the shadows grow long across the grass, there is the desire to embrace the joy and peace of those hours.  When I was young, I remember we kids playing in the growing dusk of summer, a long, purple twilight that enveloped the world, until our mothers would call us back inside.  Even then, I felt the imperative to squeeze as much joy as I could from that time.  

My gaze drifted across the seemingly-endless sea of green and took in a couple of college-age young men tossing a football around.  Down the way, a group of older men were playing the ancient game of bocce.  To my left, a young mother and her five-year-old chased their little fluffy white dog around as he exulted in what for him must have seemed like a whole new world, one not limited by leashes and fences.  There were several couples, some young, others not so young, walking through the park, holding hands and sharing secrets.  Making memories.  I was taken in by the tranquility of the moment, letting go of some of the tension and worry about recent events.  I stood there, longer than I really needed to, but so at peace was I that going to work was about the last thing I wanted at that moment.

But go to work I did, thankful for the few moments I had.

If you're looking out your window at a foot of snow on the ground, you're probably hating me right now.  But instead of thinking about the bone-chilling cold awaiting your Monday commute, close your eyes, and imagine being in that moment, in that space, with the gentle sun on your arms, and the cool breeze ruffling your hair, feeling the peaceful happiness all around.  Smile gently, and you will find within yourself that wonderful Sunday afternoon feeling.