Woodn’t you know it!

‘Tis lunchtime on my fourth (or fifth?) day off this year. Per the “Can’t Sit Still?” self-help book I wrote in my mind, I’m out working today. This is good work though, my work that need be done. Getting it done improves my world and eases my mind.

Speaking of that meager mind, it loves the rare days like today. Gorgeous weather yielding beauty all around, tasks done so many times that it is free to drift as the muscles move of their own accord. Earlier it’s eye noticed the leaves rolling through the shadows and sunlight as they fell around woodpiles. Suddenly it felt introspective as it pondered cutting all that wood from a huge, green tree a few years back. That turned it to other thoughts.

Thoughts mainly of those days & evenings and life’s arc in that time. It also pondered writing drivel then and still wonders how bored people must have been to read it. Read it they did though. The urge to write was renewed for a moment and the stove has given the time so here we are!

I miss being here as I once was. Mind, body, schedule and other obstacles preclude this playground far to often. But today I am here until the oven beeps. I thought of the group here earlier as I worked. I hope you are well and have much to be thankful for. Until we happen upon each other again, never miss an opportunity to see the love and beauty around you.

The magic of gossip

An incident today leaves me with a smile. Come along and I shall show you a trick.

One great thing about being a professional curmudgeon is that annoyance is allowed. On the list of annoyances for me is gossip and anyone partaking in the practice. It’s a futile effort to seek it from me or attempt to share it with me. As a gossip you have already shown yourself unreliable and likely to receive little from me for that reason. Understand that I come to this with a full understanding of the scientific view of it’s purpose and evolution not to mention the percentages and where I fall in them. That said, never overlook that my slice of the pie (from the scientific/historical perspective) tends to emerge unscathed so…. So let’s examine the trick afoot and my way of getting peace and amusement simultaneously.

A gossip uses slight of tongue just as a magician uses slight of hand. The point of the endeavor is to gain information on everyone else whilst keeping attention from oneself. The greater goal is to reassure yourself and those around you of your “good” and everyone else’s “bad”. Fair enough but knowing that allows for my fun as (with the goal understood and the point of questions or commentary seen) it’s easy to shoot down this magic trick. Give the gossip a slight bit of rope and then show interest or ask a question in such a fashion as to turn the topic at hand to THEM. Oh my, the look on that face is priceless! Suddenly this leech can not detach from your presence quickly enough.

Really, it is the little things in life that provide me with both quiet and joy!

Hope y’all have had a good day.

Poison Pill

Harump, make me sit and wait for 20 minutes with nothing to do and I’m bored in 2. By the three minute mark I’ll have remembered a thought from earlier and realized that (for once) I have time to rid myself of it. Oh look, here I be, cool. Now, time matters so let’s get on with this while there is both time and bandwidth.

Had a couple of times to smile and shake my head lately. (And here he is so I shall try to return later!) (Six hours later I’m tired-er but back….) Ok, short version then night-night.

Then thing making me laugh is people’s combined arrogance (lack of humility) and avoidance of exercises of wisdom. Ponder this for a bit as a way to see it….

They have a problem, they go to a Doctor, they strip in front of a stranger, get poked and prodded, answer hard questions and then pay for the ability to swallow an unknown foreign pill but…..

They can’t openly talk in an honest fashion with a known, educated person about the simplest things or heed advice from someone who knows them, the situation and cares…..

Makes zero sense but this is where so many find themselves as they carry the weight of their pride. That is a weight no diet pill promises to remove!

There, done, and now I shall sleep. Hope y’all have been well.

Five!?!

Yep, still here. Ok, rarely here. Still working too much (according to some) and resting too little (same sources so go figure) but life isn’t bad overall. Ticking along I suppose.

Had a free moment the other day and thought I’d pop by and so I did. Knew that it was a place I had been away from for far too long. Little did I realize that, judging from messages) it had been about six weeks! That led to a quick scroll to see who had been active in that time. Five minute break done, it was time for back to work.

My mind wandered as my body worked. Thought of all who had come and gone over the years here. Thought about the problems, solutions, pain and joy seen and wondered how everyone was. In and amongst all of it there was an epiphany!

I came here right after one major letdown in my world and right as another came to be. Seems very hard to believe that either ever could or would happen and yet here I am. It has been five years here! That realization shocked me. It actually took a bit to get my head around it. Not really sure where or how I thought I would be after five years. Not sure I’m satisfied with where I have been and where I am but I am glad I was who I was and I am glad that I am as I am. Never minded the guy I have to sleep with ever night because I have no shame in him. Can’t swear I always knew I would pull it off but (I hope) the worst is past.

To those who have helped him continue to be me over those years, thank you. As always, I’ll be back but, for now, have a beautiful day!

Dog is dead

Haven’t told y’all a good tale in awhile and I have been quiet for awhile and so I shall share a story. This week deserves this story but you must bear with me as I start it with a mind not running properly and anticipate finishing it worse for the wear. We shall see but, before we start, settled in and ready to listen?

Once upon a time and not very far away at all there lived a beloved man and his wife. They lived beside his small country shop. He walked out with a hug and kiss in the morning and back into the same in the evening. As is common, they aged and he worked slower but he never really closed. It was less a business than a gathering spot but that doesn’t really matter does it. In good time, time passed as it always does and the lady passed with it.

This was a great loss to the gentleman as one might imagine and it was wondered how he would manage without her. After awhile some joy appeared we thought. A small bundle of fur was seen in his shop. Turned out he was as delightfully crusty as ever. “It may show up, it may follow me but I ain’t keeping it” he declared. Well, that puppy kept following him and he kept complaining. He even refused to name it on the grounds that “you only name something you’re keeping”. Okie dokie…

Well, one day about six months later he had an epiphany. He had told the dog it was time go to work, time to eat, time to go home and time to go to bed so many times that it answered to dog! Thus was the name Dog born and so it was to be. He later declared that he must then keep the unwanted dog as he had inadvertently named it. Nice try ya’ curmudgeon, you love Dog, Dog loves you and we all know it.

Turns out the gentleman noticed Dog’s unique skill and intellect. They spent the coming years doing performances for school kids, nursing homes, being in magazines and going on TV. Not bad for a Dog and an old man previously confronted with a lonely future. They were quite the pair and always together. But, as always, in good time, time passed and shows slowed as Dog aged.

We worried for Dog and we worried for him. Everyone figured the loss of one would kill the other. What would happen we wondered. Sadly, one day, we found out. The gentleman awoke to a deceased Dog one morning. He called for help digging a grave. The answering end let her husband know and then got on the phone. Naturally the community knew of Dog by breakfast. We all respected his privacy and wishes but we were all sorry to hear it. It was later that morning that the kicker came.

The gentlemen had done their duty and were closing the grave when the stress of the morning overcame the old heart of an old man. He fell dead beside the grave of Dog. It was the only fitting end I suppose but one I’ll always remember. Had time to ponder it late into the night earlier this week as I beat a grave through rock and root well into the night. What will probably prove to have been the best dog of my life needed a fitting place to lay. As I toiled, I envied him. Must be nice to walk into Heaven with such a friend beside you.

The problem with Me

A smelly girl got us a Dilbert daily calendar knowing I like it and with the correct assumption that we could share laughs. Good girl, smelly old girl but I do like her way of thinking. Like that she saw a way to be together now and tomorrow. Lot of folks miss that nowadays. Sad really but ironic in light of the strip in front of me.

The strip for Saturday/Sunday shows a coworker coming to Dilbert with his problems. Dilbert retreats to his phone in an effort to satisfy his wants and ignore the problems of another. His thought is that his phone is more interesting for the zillionth time. Now for something to be humorous it must contain a grain of truth and ring true. This strip works because it is the world we live in and “everyone does it”. It’s so much easier to find refuge in our favorite distraction than it is to expend the empathy and energy for another.

Here’s a question to ask yourself:

“If my phone has been more interesting for the zillionth time then who will I turn to when the one with the problem is Me?”

Lost?

So many thoughts and so little time. To be fair I censor myself in many ways lest I crunch a toe with the room full of rocking chairs on my mind. This is in some ways brought about by listening to the news on occasion lately. My head hasn’t allowed such luxuries while riding very often for the last couple of years. Thought I’d try again.

Mixed results in the “does my brain work again” arena and decidedly poor results in the area of “does it want to hear this”? So much polarized emotion with so very few facts to let the listener decide. Not really news insomuch as arguments made under the guise of such. So what to do? Simple….

Educate yourself independently on those things you care about and move forward from a point of actual knowledge. Use your sudden spare time to seek out the good news, it does exist. People excel at being decent humans daily and we can only miss it by choice.

Happy hunting