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Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Bob Pays a Visit.

 There he was, in his sudden, out-of-nowhere fashion, and of course my mind froze for that split second between knowing what just happened couldn't possibly happen and knowing almost simultaneously that yea, so what, it just did.  This probably resulted in the confused, annoying look on my mug which always brought a smile to his face, not in a way that suggested the smile was at my expense, but in a gentle, fun sort of way that was never threatening.

     "Bob…..dude!  I'd almost forgotten about you!  Where you been, my old imaginary friend?"

     "Where do you THINK I've been,  Michael?  Surfing the light fantastic, my friend, deep down there in your Id where all the wonderful things occur that make me glad I really DO exist.  Just thought I'd pop in (to your more visible awareness) and pay a visit.  It HAS been awhile, hasn't it?"

     Of that I had to agree.  I hadn't "seen" Bob in what seems like years, since I last posted about him in one of my old blogs.  But, just as I would have least expected him to show up, here he was.  Which provoked a momentary worry………

     "Now wait……why ARE you here right now?  I'm actually not as stressed out today as I have been these last few months, and there's no immediate threat to my well-being I'm aware of, so is there any particular reason why YOU of all………people…….decided to remind me I can dream up pretty cool hallucinations?"

     Bob turned his gentle smile away from me and gazed out over the front yard of my little acre of sand.  "Relax, Michael, as a construct goes, I am not the "harbinger" model, or some sign or symptom of mental instability.  I'm simply here as your friend, a sort of reminder that the wonder you suspect is lurking out there in that big bad universe somewhere really IS there, and as scary as it all can be, you can be commended for hanging in there and enjoying it regardless.  And I also wanted to congratulate you on having collected such a unique circle of friends on that internet connection of yours.  Each one has been contributing grandly to your state of mind these days, and believe it or not, you are returning the favor."  He leaned over conspiratorially and whispered in my ear, "And I think they really, really LIKE you!"  With that last little "Sally Fields at the Oscars" joke, he chuckled in that infective manner that only Bob could conjure up, and I laughed unabashedly right along with him, not too concerned that anybody who could see me sitting alone on my porch swing would wonder what I was laughing about.

     "Well, thanks, Bob, I guess………..yea, these people I've stumbled across ARE pretty special.  But there's one thing that really bugs me sometimes, when it comes to the friends I make online.  It's the distance that's usually involved, and the likelihood that I will never get to meet just about any of them.  I've been friends with Paul for what now seems like forever, and I'm no closer to dropping in on him in Arizona than I've ever been.  Hell, I sometimes wonder if I will even get to go anywhere further than this county line before I die…..sigh…."

     "I understand how you feel, my good fellow, and no, I can't (and probably shouldn't even if I COULD) promise you that you'll ever get to meet these good people in person, but I also know that what they give you transcends all distance and presence or you wouldn't be so concerned about it.  Remember your reunion, and how it gave you the opportunity to visit with Jules and her husband?  You never thought THAT would happen but it did.  And those few short days you spent with them was almost the best part of the entire trip, wasn't it?'  I was nodding my head in agreement  "Well, yea, you might just never get around to meeting Paul or Judy or Anne but you probably know them already in ways that perhaps most people who see them often never will.  You have all made connections that reside deeper down in the soul than what being conveniently "local" to each other might have provided.  So, enjoy them as you have them, and hey, ya never know what might happen in the future."

     "And this is ALL you're here to tell me?  You're not gonna warn me the Mayans are gonna kill us all next year?"

     "Nope", he laughed as he faded from view in that Cheshire Cat fashion of his, "they aren't any better at ending the world then the Christians are!"

     So I sat there staring at the now empty spot on the swing next to me and then laughed out loud again as I realized I had something to blog about tonight……….

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Healing, Hauling, and Hope

     Hello, there!  It's a balmy afternoon here at the Hold and your's truly, the guy who writes this blog, is in transition.  That's right, I am about to become, once again, a "working Joe", having finally been released back to full duty, having been judged by the Workman's Comp Shaman to be physically fit enough to do my job.  I won't actually start my next shift till Monday, but hey, this has been WAY overdue and I am eager to get back to doing the voodoo that I do so well, which is helping a talented group of drop-dead gorgeous nurses (and, well, yea, maybe a couple of guys too) take care of critically ill patients.  It has taken me a bit longer this time around to get over my back injury, but I'm not the young whipper snapper (just an older, wiser one...hehe) I used to be, and I really have to be more careful with these heavier patients.  Yea, I SAID it......you guys are not getting any lighter........


     Which ALSO means I don't have to sit around the Hold anymore watching the Wife have to do all the heavy work.  Yep, it's GOOD to be back!  Now, it's NOT that I didn't do my share of the regular domestic chores around here, Lord and Lady knows I've been doing some dishwashing and cooking and laundry and what-not, but a man does like to fulfill his traditional roles of Hold maintenance and construction projects.  And it just ain't NATURAL to ask the wife to haul out the garbage.....just AIN'T done!


     Also, I would like to introduce to my fans the newest addition to our household......this 13.5 HP Murray Select 40" lawn tractor that was GIVEN (as in free of charge, they even hauled it over to the Hold in their pickup) to us by one of my ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS nurses and her TOTALLY COOL husband.






Yea, it needs a new battery, but this machine is in GREAT shape, runs like a champ, and all I need to do is find some mulching blades and a cover for the side discharge so that I can put it to work reducing the half-mile thick blanket of leaves that covers the other half acre of the Hold here.  THEN maybe I can rehabilitate the area with some grass for the goats to forage on until I can get the raised beds in that we hope we can afford to install by next growing season.


     I also am happy to report that although we had to take our little male goat Puck for an emergency visit to our local Vet, he seems to be doing better now.  We have had TERRIBLE luck when it comes to male baby goats, as they are very prone to having their convoluted little urinary tracks clogged up with stones.  The Vet actually was not sure if it was urinary or digestive distress the little guy was suffering from, but he treated him as best he could and all we could do was cross our fingers.  I also asked all my friends on Face Book to send some positive energy towards our little guy, and I can honestly say it seems to have made a difference.....THANK YOU my friends!


     There are terrible things happening all around the world, even as people are rising up everywhere in a genuine effort to improve their lives and throw off the yoke of dictatorships.  Considering the price WE already paid to enjoy the quality of life we as Americans have come to have, it really pisses me off that WE as a people have degenerated into the petty, bickering, entitled yet unabled laughingstock that we have become.  It never ceases to amaze me how we seem to becoming more and more ignorant and intolerant as a people, electing people to our congress who actually seem to be there to take away all we fought for as a progressive people and hand what little we seem to have left to those who always had more than they could ever justify having to begin with.  Then you add GOD to the equation and we seem to be damned determined to rob ourselves of all those protections to worship (or not) as we see fit given us by our constitution.  I have Catholic family members who complain about the Court ruling prayer at graduations as illegal, and I don't understand why they can't seem to remember that that Protestant Majority once would have LYNCHED a Catholic who dared tried to poison any of their pubic events with their Papist evil.  You REALLY want the MAJORITY to rule when it comes to matters of religious conscious?  REALLY?  Cousins, I love you, but you dare not know what you seek.........


     Well, It's been a month of trial and tribulation, weddings and wonderment, and somehow we've survived it.  I hope you've enjoyed surviving it with us.  Till next post.....Blessed be!