Clear Line Forward

The garden path was cleared. The padlock held. Time to advance beyond the porch and hit real distance. I marched straight past the gate onto the public concrete walk. Ahead lay an empty, flattened aluminum drink can kicked sideways across the expansion joint. Clutter breaking the straight stride. I did not detour. Stepped square over the crumpled metal, drove my heel down dead center, and folded it flat with one clean stomp. Then, with both fists locked around the folded edge, I levered it straight up and wedged it upright into the iron slats of an adjacent street drain grate. Off the path. Paved lane wide open. My ground extends.