Grounding

6:45 AM

Starling Steward

South of Magnolia Street a colorful stream of people flow through the bottleneck doors of their buildings and out into the streets. The majority of the people are clad in exercise gear or work bibs with a few exceptions here and there still in pajamas. Dangling from their arms or clutched in their hands are satchels and baskets filled with metal and glass containers that emit a light tinkling clank as the crowd flows forward. The package percussion is accompanied by the occasional coloratura of greetings and hellos that rise up above the crowd.

These early morning practitioners are often called, “morning birds,” but Starling and her sister Kara prefer to call them “overachievers.” The stream is largely made up of bright, energetic, go-getter types with their hair and makeup already done.

This party of young professionals is chaperoned by a few older folks who were able to “sleep in,” relative to those in their age cohort who often naturally wake earlier around 4:30 or 5, unable to escape the results of aging. Guised as advice, grumbles of the years forcibly adding and subtracting sleep can be heard passing their lips to enlighten the younger co-commuters. Someday these relative youths will more fully understand the feelings that lead to these words: the need to share, to warn, to educate, to unload, and to connect, but for today the young folks just understand these quip from elders as contextually adjacent to their own experiences and trudge on.

A scan of the crowd doesn’t produce a representative number of families or children that live in the neighborhood. But come 8 in the morning, the streets and trails will be full of tiny people being pulled in wagons, many playing Savage Pop on their tablets. Come 8, the composition of the crowd becomes more complex with more pajamas and artist smocks and hair in curlers and bare faces. Come 8 the tinkle of tins becomes clanks and the beat of feet on the trails sound like thuds on timpani drums.

But not at 6:45.

“Are you going to wake up for singles hour tomorrow?” Kara had jokingly asked her sister last night.

“Well, I’m still in my pajamas, but I’m up,” thinks the girl in her emerald nightgown as she steps onto the sidewalk outside her building and joins the river made up of her neighbors cascading toward The Community Fields. “Mornings just aren’t my thing.”

This is true. Starling has always struggled to get up early and she’d only been going with the “morning birds” for a few months now. She knew she could go later in the day with the other night-owl types, around noon, or even by herself whenever she felt like it, but Augie goes at 7, so that makes it worth it.

Her neighbors began to break off onto the tendrils of paths, trails, and microparks that all lead to The Fields. Though it would take her a little longer to arrive at their collective destination, she decided to join a smaller stream of people and follow her favorite walking path that winds and loops a bit more than the regular corridors. She tells herself that she likes this one because she can check in on the butterfly garden and see the parade of native trees planted along its edges, but deep down she knows that the reason she takes this path is because it runs by Augie’s building and she likes it when they get to walk together.

To her surprise, Auggie was already on the trail, but they were walking toward her.

“Did you already Practice today?” she called to the tall dark-skinned person with long eyelashes.

Augie nodded as they pulled a large green shamrock pendant off their neck and put it over Starling’s head.

“This matches your ensemble better than mine,” they said.

Augie, always testing the limits of fashion, was pulling off a hot pink v-neck and a bright green puffy sirwal-style pant tucked into the top strap of their gladiator sandals. Previously accentuated with a huge jade green shamrock necklace.

Starling frowned.

“What, don’t you like it? Our ancestors used to think these gave the wearers luck.”

“Why are you already coming back? I thought we might Practice together today and then go over the plans. I absolutely can’t wake up any earlier than this, August.”

“Oh, full name. I’ve done bad. I’m sorry little bird. I’ve just got this student tour at the Museum today, with a cute teacher chaperone I might add, so I need to get in early and prepare. I wouldn’t want to mess it up.” They finished with a little wink.

Starling cracked a smile. “Flattery will get you somewhere I guess. This better be the best tour ever. My students have been looking forward to it for weeks.”

“It will be, don’t worry. Oh and look, you didn’t wake up early for nothing, here comes my most elusive roomie. Maybe you two can Practice together. Avi, this is Starling who I’ve been telling you about. And with that, I gotta run like salmon.”

Augie gave a little bow and bounced up a few stairs before popping into one of the low-rise refab-flats that had been turned into co-ops nearly 80 years ago. They were a little run down, but the living walls and green roofs hid a lot of the cracks. They didn’t have water features and Practice rooms like Starling’s flat, but there was still something nice about them.

“Well, that was just like Augie, huh? Shall we go on together then?” Avi gave a little sweep of the arm and the two new acquaintances started down the path shaded by Monterey Pines.

Avi’s satchel jingled with each step like ankle bells that were meant to accompany their promenade. Not accustomed to silences, Starling jumped in.

“Augie’s told me a lot about you. You’re a city planner, right? I’ve always loved this native tree trail. Also whoever came up with Magnolia Street was Gaia-send, I swear. Whenever I’m lost I just start sniffing for magnolias and once I get to Magnolia Street, I’m set.”

“Oh? That makes me happy to hear. I can’t take credit for Magnolia Street because it’s nearly 100 years old, but I do help upkeep this trail we’re on. We’re all assigned to work within our own communities so every morning’s walk is actually when I start making my work checklist.”

“Oh wow, I’m not sure I’d like to start work before I Practice,” says Starling.

“It’s not bad for me. My work is actually the thing I’m most often grateful for. I like putting everything I have into something that makes a difference for others. So it’s really lovely when people like you notice it.”

Relieved by Avi’s kind nature, Starling relaxed a little.

“No wonder Augie likes you. They’re all about community too. You know, the reason I even met them was because they stayed at the practice all the way until noon when I usually go. Augie was just bouncing between groups, talking to folks and sharing some scones they’d made.”

Avi let out a guttural laugh. “That sounds like Augie.”

As the pair continue down the path, Monterey pines turn to redwoods signaling that they are nearly at their destination. Sounds of laughter and serving spoons clanking into metal pots begin to accompany the jingle of Avi’s bag.