Benched #7: falling water

It was hot.  Houston hot.

To get to the downtown Houston park I had chosen, I had to walk a block in the sweltering, midday sun, then cut through the Galleria Mall, past the incongruous ice skating rink.  (It’s just like Texans to thumb their noses at natural laws.)  Then walk back out into the sun.  The park was fairly non-descript – a sward of grass lined with trees on both sides.  On one end, the towering building shown above.  On the other, a brick façade, which partially hid a wall of falling water.



Unlike last week’s park in Manhattan, people didn’t linger here.  They came to see the waterfall and left.

But I noticed something interesting.

Slowed by the heat, tired souls (with burning soles) seemed to perk up once they came within earshot of the hiss of the falls.  People smiled. They fairly jogged up the steps. Kids ran around with suddenly-sprightly grandparents in laughing pursuit.  On one side, a couple in elegant clothes romantically posed for professional pictures. 



Nearby, another couple handed their young daughter their iPad to shoot their picture.  She giggled with delight.



What is it about water that rejuvenates us?  Perhaps the Fountain of Youth was just an ordinary fountain.  All water seems to perk us up.  But why?

Maybe it’s the fact that we’re made up mostly of the stuff.  Deep down inside us, something connects with water,whether it’s a pool, river, ocean or waterfall park.  It soothes us.  I was fascinated by the fact that here, no one actually got in the water.  Just getting near it was enough to refresh.

And that’s what I sat ruminating about.  To refresh people.  How can I spend my remaining years helping weary souls revive?  It might be fun to spray the daily walkers that pass my house, if the hose would reach that far.  Then again, maybe that’s just a tad too literal.  What does figurative refreshing look like?  What does it sound like?

As I walked back into the mall and ordered myself something cool to drink, I joked around a bit with the young guy behind the counter.  And it dawned on me.  Conversation.  As ubiquitous and as necessary as water. 

What does refreshing sound like?

A kind word.  A shared joke.  Appreciation.  A sensitive question that takes a chat past the brick façade.

Thoughtful words.  Like the spray of cool water on a scorching, summer day.