Incroyable!

Unbelievable! My turn to drive the Friday carpool (don't ask). I pick up my crew and head out. They are all silent, tired, resting their heads, undoubtedly dreading another day of school, tests, crabby teachers. Likely they are not morning people. Maybe they haven't had time to wake up yet. Maybe they are just worn out from a whole week of labor.

I respect their need for peace. I refrain from chattering happily or asking questions. I do not turn on the radio. There is total silence. Rare. I enjoy it. We turn onto Manitou Road, queue up behind a FedEx truck and a small line of cars, and slowly make our way onto 531, heading into heavy morning traffic.

We are not late. It is unusual for traffic to be this heavy this early. I can't imagine how bad it will be in about twenty minutes. We have a hard time getting to the 490/390 turn off that we take to avoid construction traffic delays. I weave into the far lane to avoid slow cars turning off 531, then weave back into the right lane.

The road angled to the right, and suddenly, ahead of us, was a huge ball of red gold. I have seldom seen the sun so splendidly arrayed. It was breathtaking. I couldn't help saying, "Wow!" No one else said anything or changed their posture or even opened their eyes.

We drove a bit further. To the left was a tree-lined meadow with a bit of fog hovering above the grass. The magnificent orb hung just atop the trees. It was amazing. Again, I couldn't suppress a "Marvelous!" Still no one moved or acknowledged the beauty of the morning world.

Two miles further and that unbelievably beautiful sun hung low enough in the sky to hover between buildings. It was surreal ~ like being on some unknown planet where the heaven is unfamiliar yet eerily appealing. "Magnificent!" I said. "I have never seen such beauty."

No response. I thought perhaps those four teenagers were dead. Well, never mind. *I* certainly had a delightful and gorgeous drive to school this morning and went to work wrapped in warmth and satisfied with beauty. Perhaps it takes some modicum of age to appreciate such things.