October 16, 2010 Alone?

Cool, quiet and with a hint of dust in the air I stepped out of the door and into a world that I had not visited in some time. The air was filled with a light haze that lay in layers across the horizon. Everything seemed completely foreign to me and I felt as though I was the lone survivor in a world that once was filled with life. The sun was just breaking over the tops of the trees that surrounded a lake to the east of me and at it was apparent that it was the beginning of another beautiful day. The winds were light and there was not a sound to be heard except for an occasional bird chirping here and there. The quite was somewhat surreal and seemed to surround me. As I ventured out and began looking for other signs of human life I could not help be think about how different this place had been the last time I was here. The hundreds of people that were here, the dozens of barking dogs and the sounds of kids playing had once filled this place with a kind of life to be envied. What had happened? Where had everyone gone? Was I alone in this world? Was I dreaming? The buildings were all there right where they had been, an empty swing moved ever so slightly on the playground where children once played and there were signs of the past presence of life everywhere. Rows of canoes someone once used to paddle the nearby waterways lay in long rows, empty dumpsters where people once disposed of their garbage lined the streets, a small pile of firewood someone had left behind reminded me of the late night fires that had burned here and an empty amphitheater all showed signs of a past presence of life. Now there was no one. Alone I walked along looking for any signs of life I could find, nothing. On I went in quest of another human being. As I walked I could not help but think back to a trip I had made to New York some time back and how different the two places were. In New York I was surrounded by tall skyscrapers, here only big old Oak trees. Cars were everywhere and the smell of the exhaust and the blare of honking horns were your constant companion, here nothing but quiet and crisp air. In New York I was shoulder to shoulder with people all in a hurry to get someplace, here I was only accompanied by my own shadow, two different worlds existing on a singular planet. The question still reminded though, was I all alone. Was I the sole survivor of some catastrophic event? Then out of now where a familiar smell filled my nose, bacon, fresh hot sizzling bacon. I was suddenly filled with a new hope. I followed the aroma of to the west and there just around a bend was a welcome sight. There was a family sitting down to breakfast, together enjoying each other and their breakfast. I was relieved to know I was not alone and that my original evaluation of my situation had been accurate. I was not the sole survivor of some catastrophic event. No it was just another day at a South Dakota State Park in the middle of October.