Settling scores…

Through the skin of my clothes I feel the rock…

It is a little rough,

a little sharp in some places,

sun-warmed,

lichen stained,

non-descript granite…

It is split and eroded,

half-drowned in a tide of juniper and kinikinik which,

competing for space and sunlight,

are unwitting partners in the slow minuet of life…

But limbs can extend only so far from the parent root,

particularly in this harsh climate,

and the rock itself is too large to be engulfed…

Its freckled heart,

which warms my neck,

lies open to the sky…

— in Diary of a Wilderness Dweller by Chris Czajkowski

 

People complain a lot,

about the time,

some things take,

to progress…

Sometimes we don’t know,

how fast things are actually happening,

because our highways,

are congested,

with superfluous negativity,

and doubt…

This week I was astounded…

My neighbour across the street,

called on Tuesday,

to see if I wanted to add my area rug,

to her package deal,

in exchange for supervising the pick up…

And within 48 hours,

by Friday,

10:15 am,

I slid a good as brand spanking new,

wool carpet,

back into home base…

When the man in charge,

pulled up in his van,

and bundled the rug over his shoulder,

and up the stairs,

of my front porch,

for the return,

he said,

See,

YOU tell a man to get something done,

and he does it…

With no resistance…

He pointed to his work,

on the old fir floors,

so I could admire the details,

of his efforts…

I’m a former military man,

and a perfectionist…

I went over this three and more times…

You don’t want to know what was living in there…

I put a black light on it,

in the dark,

and holy smokes…

It really should have been sanitized…

But I know you have cats,

so I kept things simple…

I kept it to myself,

that this rug,

has only been washed,

once before,

due to the fact,

that a bright star,

accidentally,

spilled his ginger beer on it,

and I wanted to preserve the information,

for the duration…

I remember the day,

the vet came to the door,

and set up his equipment…

I told the doctor,

whom I’d never met before,

and was called in,

for this right of passage,

because he makes house calls,

You’re going to wonder why I’m asking you to do this…

Because my dog looks strong,

and healthy…

But he’ll tell you,

like he’s been telling me,

that it is time to go…

He didn’t know what I meant,

until the dog ran into the house,

leaned against him,

then laid down,

on the rug,

with his back pressed against the couch….

The man looked at me,

confirming receipt,

of the memorandum…

And then he did,

what he’d been asked to do,

for the purposes,

of energy transformation…

Mr. Inthenavyfor25years,

wanted me to know,

that this project was full,

of pet dander…

I told him,

The whole world is full of dander,

and some of it is mine…

He said,

You’re right…

But this rug really needed a scrub…

And you can see by the turn-around time,

an imperative was in effect…

I was thinking,

this morning,

as I sent a few core messages,

to Coach V,

during his live Presser,

that I should probably consider,

whipping up,

a little something,

for the Canucks’ special units…

In just the right colours,

of course…

Because that’s the kind of,

practical,

down-home girl,

that I am…