The Bridges of Palm City

Today was one of those rare days that I could have easily gotten lost in worries. Not really my style. To fight off the blues in my head I decided to enjoy the blues of the sky and water.



I gathered my old camera, oldest lens, 36 year old beach cruiser bike, 56 year old body, and exercised the whole group. Keep things in good shape, they last a long time.

I had a vague idea it was a good day to shoot bridges and anything else of interest. The ride was more important than setting goals.



After a year and a half of living in my new home town, I will be the first to admit I have done a miserable job of making friends. Maybe because I do things on the weekdays like get on my bike and ride at 7:30 in the morning. Maybe because even on a good day the people I know are spread all over the country. Many weekends I'm out of town so that does not help. On those rare days I want to sit and have a conversation over a cup of coffee, I have a bit of a vacuum at the moment.



Hours into my ride I found a tiny church in the most perfect location you could imagine a church to be in.  I am hardly the most friendly person but as I was shooting the church I met the youth pastor Crisman Koechig. I am not what you might call religious but it did seem rather convenient to have someone to speak to on the only day I really needed it. In fact he was the only person I spoke face to face to all day.



Probably not the most world changing conversation for him. For me it was significant. I explained why I was on this particular ride and he was nice enough to listen. He even offered to say a few prayers. No for me. I'm doing pretty well. But for someone currently in a pretty big need.

It never hurts to have someone build a little bridge for you, even if just to carry a message. Not all bridges are concrete and steel. If I was in the market to reacquaint myself with a church, I would certainly choose one where the pastor walks out in the street and talks to a stranger for a half hour. If he wonders if he makes a difference - today he did.



It will be a few days, maybe a couple of weeks before I know how this will all turn out but today was a good day. That's all that matters right now.

To see the rest of the photos from my ride [click here]

To find out a little more about this church [ click here]