Some days can never be the same again

I'll forever now associate 9-11 with the offer of a truck stop waitress. It was hurricane time, I was packed, tired but too stressed to sleep, and because the fridge was empty, I dined out in the early a.m. Think Edward Hopper to set the scene.

So, this waitress manages to learn that I'm living in a trailer, alone, and needing some options to deal with hurricane challenges. And I manage to learn that she and her husband were truckers in '01 in NYC . . . when they dedicated themselves to helping whomever . . . after which they decided to get off the road.

But that time of helping never wore off, such that when the likes of me came along, her impulse was to say, We have room (and strong enough walls) and you're welcome to crash with us.

I love that woman. I love that way of being. I want a hurricane and a strong enough house that I can open it to others.

Pet Rocks

Is it better to avoid a rock in your road or destroy it? Do you stop and ponder, walk on by, turn around and go back, spray graffiti on it, build an army to destroy it, sit on top and watch others confront it, help them, hinder them, laugh at them?

Short answer: it depends on what kind of pet your rock is.

It might depend on how hard-headed you are, how big the rock is, how long it's been since the last rock blocked your road. Maybe you've got a brand new pick and you're just aching to test it.

Maybe the rock is too gorgeous to ever leave, or seems to have something to teach you. Maybe no one has scaled it before and you think you can. Maybe you need the rock, and you become convinced the rock needs you. Maybe it just plain has your name on it.

And then there's the road itself, how wide it is, how many forks it has, how far ahead you can see, if there are trees to climb along the way or bird songs leading you into the woods.




Of course, some rocks just fall from the sky right on your head

Full Stop

From Whiskey River today:

Let me keep my mind on what matters,
which is my work,
which is mostly standing still and learning to be
astonished.
- Mary Oliver
Messenger
Twi Chi

If only I were clear on what my work is.

Soggy Potato Chips

I just sank my own leaky boat by accessing this reading list.

I suggest you don't look. There are better things to do than to start chawing down on all the world's knowledge.

::

You gotta problem with mixing metaphors? Challenge your literary palate! It's good for you, liking eating veggies.


Edited: This is the third time and last time I will have used "palette" when I meant "palate."