Ten Things That Make Me Happy

Posted on August 27, 2005 in Memes

Elkit, dear Elkit always gets included in the best memes. Or rather, when she sees one she likes hanging off a blog, she pulls out her mental camera, studies the photograph, and makes her own version of it. I cribbed off her negative for this one.

My list:

1. The smell of the first rain.
2. Listening to a good piece of music while driving through beautiful country. (It has to be while driving. I never could get into the Walkman experience because I like to be able to hear the sounds around me. Especially that of a mountain lion sneaking up to dine on the trail mix in my stomach.)
3. Being with someone who is experiencing something good for the first time — especially if I have been the agent of that experience.
4. Reading a good book that deepens my knowledge of familiar territory.
5. Being in mania. (Got to watch this one. Never go on a trip without booking a return flight.)
6. Driving fast on a desert freeway, watching the saltbrush rushing past. (I even have a name for this — “The Miles”. And I came up with that before Michael Cunningham’s book “The Hours”.)
7. Finding a small nuance in a spectacular landscape that most people overlook and then composing a photograph of it.
8. Seeing someone get better, whether or not I had anything to do with the recovery.
9. Vultures and eagles soaring in the wind.
10. The antics of my cats and my wife’s friendship. (Family hour! The ultimate pleasure!)