On a morning walk down a new street, here was one front yard with bright freesia flowers. The garden patch had an old metal astrolabe-style globe as a weather vane. And what a lucky angle and composition: a storm cloud was coming on fast, blotting out the sun and framing the picture. (I had to crop this narrow, to cut out the streetlights and traffic signs.)

If the sky were clear and smiling, the view would just not be the same. The yellow freesias and the ray of sun looked especially appealing because of the weathered black metal, and the dark squall of rain.

There is a popular message (certainly among people of faith) that a sunny personal outlook is a hallmark of good character and maturity, and a good indication of solid belief in God. But some of us are just more aware of and affected by the darker clouds. Then what? Do we look only at sunshine and turn our back on the rest? If there are dark clouds, why not at least put them to work making something beautiful?

After this photographic interlude, some friendly neighbors came up the street and greeted me. They were out walking their dogs. I’d seen the women a couple of months ago, and we’d had a good radiant chat. At the time I really wanted to ask for their names and their contact information, but didn’t want to look like a snoopy-boots about it. I was sorry to come away not knowing how to find the women again; with prosopagnosia, I’d never recognize them even if they walked right past. So, I went home and wrote them a note with my contact information, tucked it in a ziplock bag for safekeeping, and carried it in my knapsack all this time in case our paths ever crossed again. And now here they were! Luckily for me, they were the ones who stopped to say hello. So I got to hand-deliver my note. (It was fun to see someone purely by chance on an early walk and say “Here’s your mail.”) They texted me right away, and now we’re in touch!

The next step is to go talk to Angelina. She would enjoy meeting the women too. There ought to be a good time for everyone (and their dogs) to come over here, to sit out with some snacks and enjoy the garden.