Reach for the sky

The smaller I feel
Woodstock, ON, July 2011

I'd like to close out this week's vertical theme* with this quick capture from my recent road trip. I was on the final leg of the drive home, and had stopped at a highway service station for some much needed fresh air and caffeine. The light was fading fast, so I thought it made sense to crack out the camera and see what I could get.

Not much, apparently. But still, this one made me think. Of Kasey Kasem, of all people, the radio DJ with the almost-too-good-to-be-true voice. He used to end off his American Top 40 (don't mock: I was 9 years-old!) with the tag line: "Keep your feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the stars."

It didn't mean a whole lot to me at the time, and if we're being frank, I doubt it meant much to him, either. I think it sounded good, so he latched onto it. But as I stood in the parking lot and stared at this lamp standard, the line popped back into my head. The structure was huge to me, a looking presence over my somewhat average height. Yet, it, too, was dwarfed by the overwhelming sky above. And as hard as it stretched, it would never even come close to touching it.

Never mind that we never quite get there, though. We've got to keep reaching.

Your turn: How do you keep reaching?

* Our new Thematic theme, parallel, launches tonight at 7 o'clock Eastern.