Life Of Jason

I was out walking today when I saw this on the concrete in front of me:

It made me wonder about Allen Salts.  How old was he when he wrote his name in that concrete?  How old is he now?  Is he even still alive?

I thought of the way that this has been written on this Springfield sidewalk for 56 years.  All the things in the life of our community and world that have come and gone in all that time but this moment in time for Allen Salts has been frozen for all those 56 years.

And I’ll bet at the time he did it the thought of that still being in that sidewalk 56 years later never even crossed his mind.

It was a good reminder to me that the smallest thing we do can have lasting impact years down the line and possibly long after we’re gone.  Sure, this might not mean much of anything in the long run (other than to say whoever built that sidewalk apparently could build ‘em to last) but if something this small that likely wasn’t thought of has lasted this long what else have we done in our lives that could have long lasting impact?

The hello to a co-worker who’s having a bad day?  The five bucks you slip into the pocket of a neighbor who needs to get a gallon of gas to get to work for the week?  Mowing your elderly neighbor’s lawn while she’s at church so she doesn’t have to do it in the heat?  The simplest little things could end up having impact decades later when at the time it seems so trivial.

Anyway, a deep thought from a morning walk.  Although if anyone knows Al, you might want to tell him his vandalism is still on display.