A bench is like an old shoe. Whether in use at the moment…
…or long since abandoned…
…its former occupants leave their mark.
All over the world, these are the true thrones of the people.
They provide company…
…entertainment…
…a sense of belonging…
…a place to rest…
…to reflect…
…to escape the worries of the workaday world…
…or not.
Oh, the stories they have heard…
The sights they have seen…
Those benches have been warmed by the flesh and blood of people who have loved…
…and sometimes lost. Who’s to say?
But the next time you see one, sit and rest a spell.
As you take the bench, and watch the world go by, don’t judge too harshly.
Listen to the stories it has to tell. They won’t be so very different from your own. 
– Naomi Baltuck
All words and images (including the portrait below) copyright 2013 Naomi Baltuck,All rights reserved
NAOMI BALTUCK ~ is a Contributing Editor and Resident Storyteller here at Bardo. She is a world-traveler and an award-winning writer, photographer, and story-teller whose works of fiction and nonfiction are available through Amazon HERE. Naomi presents her wonderful photo-stories – always interesting and rich with meaning and humor – at Writing Between the Lines, Life from the Writer’s POV. She also conducts workshops such as Peace Porridge (multicultural stories to promote cooperation, goodwill, and peaceful coexistence), Whispers in the Graveyard (a spellbinding array of haunting and mysterious stories), Tandem Tales, Traveling Light Around the World, and others. For more on her programs visit Naomi Baltuck.com
The BeZine 
What a lovely illustrated reflection. Well done!
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Thank you, Paula. I appreciate your visit.
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I enjoyed this so very much, Natalie. Thank you!
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Thank you so much, Jamie!
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Remembering all the places I have seen benches! Especially remembering a bench I saw at a cemetery when I was in 6th grade. It was a tombstone / bench. But the couple it was commemorating was a married couple of clowns! It was probably the most joyous bench I have ever seen.
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What a great story. I would have loved to have seen it. Truly a benchmark!
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Reblogged this on Cloaked Monk's Blog and commented:
All the benches put me in mind of today’s spiritual practice. Benches are places that we can rest. I wonder if there is a bench calling to you? “Come, sit, rest. Let me hold you.”
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