Trees the Day: Detour Score

Last Saturday, I was driving to the bank when I saw a beautiful red tree glowing against the otherwise unbroken green.  I wanted to stop to snap a pic, but I had places to be, and the crimson leaves were already in my rearview.  So I continued to the bank, where I waited in a long line of cars to use an ATM that turned out to be broken.  Annoyed, I pulled back onto the street.  Time to get on with my errands, I thought.  Or was it?  Maybe I could check out that foliage.  After all, I wasn't on a schedule, and no one was waiting for me.  Switching up plans might seem seamless, but for an unspontaneous soul such as myself, accepting that the day was my oyster -- or acorn -- felt like a combination of challenge and gift.

So, instead of taking the turn for the craft store, I doubled back to that enchanting tree.  I parked at the post office, then walked the rest of the way.  There was a time when even that would've unnerved me.  What if someone saw me?  Was I even allowed to take pictures that I planned to post?  But I didn't think about any of that.  The sky was blue, the air was crisp, and it felt like fall in the best way.  More importantly, if I hadn't been trying to use that ATM, then I would've missed it.  Which just goes to show that there are no accidents.  And that sometimes it pays to stray from the path.

Unless the path leads to a working ATM.