Peaceful

When I'm riding around the parks or parkway in southern Leawood I like to stop at the Ali Kemp Memorial. It's a nice quiet rock garden. The memorial honors a Leawood teen who was brutally murdered at a neighborhood pool nearby.

The late afternoon sun casts long shadows, which makes the rocks look beautiful. On this afternoon it was unseasonably warm, which is usually accompanied by a stiff south wind. Not on this day. The only sound was from a few kids practicing baseball with an overenthusiastic father. The kids didn't seem too interested. I'm sure the father was silently raging against the current culture that values playing soccer over baseball.

Sometimes peace and quiet belies the potential for strife that is never far away. Thankfully not for me on this afternoon.