Walk in Stoney Run #reLent #RIPhomeboy

A few weeks ago, March 8th, I had a Saturday off and the only thing I really wanted to do was go for a long walk with my Charlie. I set a goal of being able to walk a mile by the end of March. I've exceeded that thankfully and sometime forget that I had surgery in December. My foot has healed so well I can do cartwheels. I've been participating in a Photo a Day Challenge called #reLent and that Sunday they encouraged us to go for a real walk. I couldn't wait until Sunday. The word of Day 4 was Listen. I wanted to hear the water, hear the birds, hear the crunch of leaves and be still. 

We are so lucky to have this trail in our back yard. It feels like a special place for us. During our first Christmas Day together in Baltimore we woke up and went for a walk in Stoney Run. I've always loved the grafiti. I'm curious. Who are the artists? Do they sneak in during the night with lights? Are they MICA art students? Neighbors? Are they happy? Bored? Rebellious? Or just letting out creative juices? 

I love what The Cosmo in Vegas has done with graffiti in their parking garage. How cool would it be if Baltimore commissioned works in all of the downtown garages?

The patterns and colors are beautiful. Banksy is so popular that a building's value goes up if one of his (or her?) murals is outside it's walls. The modern Van Gogh.

The frozen earth looked beautiful and cast its own patterns and light that day.

It was the first time I had stopped to listen and be tranquil, in a very long time. Sure I've spent hours and hours being quiet in the house over this long, dark and lonely winter. But this quiet walk felt restorative.

We even met a dog along our journey that looked like he had a run into a graffiti artist. Only in Hampden. 

I had my phone turned on silent, no vibrate, so I could totally turn off the outside world. I happened to look at my phone just at the time my mother was calling. It was here we learned that my precious Uncle Robert had died suddenly in Memphis. He had celebrated his birthday just the day before, had been suffering from lung cancer, but we thought he was on the mend. I couldn't have wish for a more beautiful place to learn of this sad fact. We found a bench and continued to be quiet and thank God for all that Robert brought to our lives. It is such a loss. His wish throughout his six months of suffering was that he would glorify God. Very truly I tell you, he did just that in his life and his death.

All throughout the graffiti scene in Baltimore you can see "RIP Homeboy" with the date of the departed. I was able to go to Memphis for the funeral and will share more soon. Loss is so hard. Being with family helped so much but Robert will be missed so very much. 

RIP Homeboy Uncle Robert 3/8/14