bus inspirations

today i spent most of the day on buses, making my way back to my new england home. here are three things that inspired me in my travels today:

1. to begin, some background on the first inspiration. my momma's bff since the 3rd grade, my godmother, b.w., died this morning. b.w. & my momma have been best friends for nearly 60 years. my heart aches for my momma, for b.w.'s husband, her three boys (all in their 30s), two daughters-in-law & three grandchildren. my eyes have been full of tears today (as they have been for much of this past week). on the bus this a.m. i opened my book, Girl Meets God by Lauren Winner, to these words: "Randi is the oldest friend I've got. There are a few people out there with whom you fit just so, and, amazingly, you keep fitting just so even after you have growth spurts or lose weight or stop wearing high heels. You keep fitting after you have children or change religions or stop dyeing your hair or quit your job at Goldman Sachs and take up farming. Somehow, God is gracious enough to give us a few of those people, people you can stretch into, people who don't go away, and whom you wouldn't want to go away, even if they offered to."
2. christmas trees for sale on amsterdam avenue in nyc.
3. a billboard with this message: "eat right. / be active. / have fun." simple.