On my quest for caffeine this morning, I was almost laid out by a LeSabre, which was more excitement than I had hoped to start my Sunday with.

My walk consists of two routes that take me to one place. How I head home is left to me and is often driven by time constraints or inspired by the weather.

One path takes me down Noyes, veering right at Veintiene Market. It goes by a racquetball club that I am certain has pivoted to pickleball and Longfellow Park, a small park that sprouts daylilies in the spring.

The other pulls me perpendicular to Noyes, left at Veintiene Market past a small hair salon that flies an exclusivity flag but still requires masks to be worn inside. Devonshire Street continues past an assisted living center where the smokers smile and wave as we exchange good mornings.

The difference between the two is entirely dependent on if my thermos is full or needs to be.

The park path puts me at Proper Cup, where they will refill a thermos at a discounted rate to reinforce reuse. If you do not bring your own container, that is okay too. They still discourage single-use containers by providing the worst coffee cups known to man.

The smoking smiles side takes me to my destination a bit quicker, connecting with Coyle Street that has a path to Back Cove and Barrows, where I sit at the sundial, reading the paper and preparing for the day.

This morning, my thermos was empty, so I shuffled down Noyes, planning a playlist for the eclipse.

"Total Eclipse of the Heart... no duh. Here Comes the Sun... of course. Black Hole Sun... Yep…Moon? Am I going to catch heat for putting Yeezus on this..." I stopped at the crosswalk on Deering as a silver Subaru was approaching. They slowed to a stop, and I gave them a smile and slightly raised hand to acknowledge their kindness. "If the rest of the playlist is fire, I can probably sneak in one Kanye..." At that point, a maroon Buick LeSabre approached, pulling around the stopped Forester and speeding up on the opposite side of the road. The kind Subaru driver laid on their horn, startling me and causing me to look and speed up as the Buick blew past my backside. I stopped on the other side of the street, shocked at what had just occurred, the driver of the Forester rolled down their window, confirming the close call and asking if I was okay.

Being a fan of action films where often the protagonist is too jacked up on adrenaline, they are unaware of the knife sticking out of their shoulder or the bullet lodged in their gut. I patted myself down. I had neither.

"Yes, thank you for stopping and honking. That was wild."

I continued down Noyes in disbelief, past the path where the daylilies still lay dormant, breathing heavily and shaking slightly, before walking into Proper Cup and placing my thermos on the counter.

"Decaf please, and do you think anyone would care if there is a Kanye song on my eclipse playlist?"