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12/28/11     1:07am

I had the most incredible experience recently. The day didn’t start out that way. I was in a rush to a meeting with just a few hours sleep and the lady cancelled on me when we were halfway there. Ugh. I hadn’t been out of the house in a few days and told my mom we were NOT going home. So we went downtown to Denny’s for breakfast. When we got there there was this nice homeless gentleman standing at the entrance who asked me to buy him breakfast. Why not? So he came to sit with us. The nicest man. He was a little out there but very polite. He was a programmer from Puerto Rico named Manuel.

After Denny’s we ventured over to Seaport Village and just wandered around. I saw a sword swallower and a magic show. I was sad to see that the popcorn cart that’s been there since I was little was gone and I had an argument with the timeshare guy about age discrimination. Serves him right. I got a picture with the dancing silver man and sat on a bench and watched some ducks for awhile. It was so peaceful. But the best part of the excursion came last.

When we got back to the car I noticed there was a butterfly on the back window. I thought it would fly away when I walked up but it didn’t. I took some pictures and we pulled out. Odd. It still didn’t move. I kept watching it, taking pictures. It was hanging on for dear life. We drove several blocks with it there before I convinced my mom to pull over so I could put it on a plant. Do you know how difficult it is to find a plant downtown? I found some birds of paradise and figured they’d do.

I feel the magic thinking about it today. When I put my finger out the butterfly climbed on. I walked him over the plant but every time I tried to dismount the little guy he crawled back on. I noticed one of his legs was messed up and he was missing part of a wing. So I sat down to admire him. He crawled around for awhile then opened his wings and stopped moving. I was concerned. I thought maybe he was dead. I said a prayer and just sat there admiring the beauty. I mean how many times have YOU been accosted by a butterfly? I never knew they were fuzzy. I figured when else am I gonna get to touch butterfly fuzz and I reached down to touch it. I guess he was napping and not dead (and ticklish) because he popped up and flew haphazardly in a zigzag away, disappearing onto a rooftop balcony.

I feel so blessed to have this experience. Even now I feel peaceful… What a day to encounter a butterfly.

© Michelle Routhieaux 2011