route awakewning

I can see him from around the bend. He's sitting down under a maple tree, digging. I can see him, because honestly I am looking for him..hoping that he will be there.
Odd that I would want to see anyone since the temp. is in the 90's and the humidity is insane. Usually under these conditions, the goal is simple... get done ASAP before the sun gets too intense.
But there he is. The only person out. On a day like this I'm usually the only one outside.. and that's because I have to be. Days like this your concerned customers stick their sympathetic heads out the cracked front doors of their AC -cranked -up houses.
But not this customer. I've only had one conversation with him, which left me waiting for the next one.
Mr. B is probably 70 something. There are many striking things about him..but the big three are his earthy laugh, lively eyes and energetic mind. He's a talker..and had me hanging on every syllable.
So now here he is, out in the sweltering heat, digging weeds..one by one with a knife. I know he can afford to have his yard done...I know he's probably got more interesting things to do. His posture is strikingly beautiful; poised, relaxed, almost joyful. He looks more like he's doing yoga than yardwork.
As I approach, I'm almost hesitant to disturb him..(he seems to actually be enjoying himself) but my curiosity gets the best of me. I walk over and ask him how he's doing. Before I know it I find myself sitting down under the tree with him..breaking the cardinal " keep your ass moving/ beat the heat" rule.
He told me about the person that turned his life around when he tried to drop out of high school. He told me about his frustration while starting his PhD at Cornell. He told me about his love of mathematics, and details about some of his own theories on quantum physics. He told me about his latest project..Project Genesis.. where he is trying to solve the puzzle of how the universe was created.
I left feeling ,enriched, enlightened..INSPIRED. It's not every day that you have the luxury of sitting in the shade on a steamy day with someone you barely know and leaving, in a dreamlike state...saying "Did that really happen?". I just hung out with Stehpen Hawkings, Albert Einstein, the Buddah , and Mr. Greenjeans all wrapped into one delicious person. It was more refreshing than a pitcher of ice cold lemonaide and a lot more memorable.