Giving Up the Ghost, Part I

Today is a beautiful day; the sun is shining, sky really blue, air dry (that's a description, not a directive). I am ready for the trip upstate.

I used to go up to Ulster County a lot, but I haven't in a minute. And you know I've been in the city for too long when I use the word "minute" to signify a long stretch of time. There's this lovely guy who sells breads and pastries at my neighborhood's farmers' market every Sunday, and through some small talk we realized that he attended the same college as me and still lives up there in Ulster. Every weekend when I walk by the market we smile to each other, wave, sometimes chat. Last weekend when I saw him, I expressed my longing for the hills, the air, the (to quote a friend) Upstate State of Mind. "Give up the ghost!" he said. I asked him what that meant, and he explained that it basically meant to just do it already.

And I am so ready. I just took a break from writing this to talk with the custodian where I work; I told him I was going upstate, and he asked what people do up there. "Chill, hike, chill..." He told me that he would go by the lake, [...], go to sleep...yeah. I really like sleeping outdoors. Let the wind wash my face, scratchy grass at my back: bring it. The sun can pour over my body, open my eyes to infinite leaves on trees; the mere thought inspires me. Onward to the Hudson Valley.