This is the view of the Leie River from the Zuivelbrug … a bridge that’s fifty metres from my apartment.  A blessing.

I don’t know if you can enlarge the photo on your device but way down there is another bridge – the Krommewal.  And there’s nobody on it.

I have a ritual.  Dare I call it a fetish?  I look out at an empty scene and imagine it full of the life that I know lives in the neighbourhood.

Gent is full of people who enjoy being outside – sitting on terraces, strolling with their loved ones, zooming along on a bicycle.  I love seeing all these folks!

I wait on the Zuivelbrug until life crosses the far bridge.  Et voilà:

Okay, too small for some of you, I guess, but now there’s a cyclist crossing the Krommewal left to right.  Oh … it makes me happy!

I can hear some of you saying “This guy is easily pleased.”  (Smiling)  Oh well.  As my dear wife Jody used to say “Oh my husband and his idiotsyncrasies.”

In the spirit of continuing this questionable discussion, almost every morning I stop on the Zuivelbrug seeking … birds.  I look at the Leie to the left and stay looking until I see a bird – either flying or sitting.  Thus accomplished, I look down the Leie to the right and stay put until a flying thing appears.  Years ago I lived in an area that had hardly any birds.  So Gent is a Godsend.

***

I’m pleased with my moments of weirdness

AI tells me that “weird” means something highly strange, unusual or unexpected, often with an eerie or supernatural quality

I’ll take it