Yellow Brick Road

Every journey leads us along our own yellow brick road, but where? Dorothy wanted to get back home, and every walk has to lead back home someday, whether that home is in the same place or moves to a new place as you take new strides along those bricks.

I mapped out a few bricks this week, a path we call "the bone" because of the shape of joined cul-de-sacs in one section our neighborhood, and one lap brings me back home after a brisk walk. While I've never before lived in a dead-end neighborhood, I find it peaceful and enjoyable, particularly for outdoor activities. Children can play outside without fear of high speed traffic, we can walk through the entire neighborhood without disturbance, and there is a sense of getting to know one's neighbors more intimately (not too intimately, please!). While the neighborhood is small - this yellow brick road is only a total seven-tenths of a mile - it is convenient to the city at large, yet still has that private, out-of-the-way sense. This is a walk I like to take frequently, several times a day if I can manage it, and that mileage adds up.

What short walk - one part of your yellow brick road - is one of your favorites?