In Honor of Friends

Jeff and Matt come down today to visit. I'm excited to be able to walk and talk with these friends. I think this word by Max Ehrmann says it right:

Ships Returning Home

We are all ships returning home laden with life's experience, memories of work, good times and sorrows, each with his special cargo;
And it is our common lot to show the marks of the voyage, here a shattered prow, there a patched rigging, and every hulk turned black by the unceasing batter of the restless wave.
May we be thankful for fair weather and smooth seas, and in times of storm have the courage and patience that mark every good mariner;
And, over all, may we have the cheering hope of joyful meetings, as our ship at last drops anchor in the still water of the eternal harbor. - Max Ehrmann

And in honor of wintery walks, I post these words by Henry David Thoreau:

It is invigorating to breathe the cleansed air. Its greater fineness and purity are visible to the eye, and we would fain stay out long and late, that the-gales may sigh through us, too, as through the leafless trees, and fit us for the winter:--as if we hoped so to borrow some pure and steadfast virtue, which will stead us in all seasons.