tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28344029956893389822024-03-05T07:38:30.935-08:00Squid SquirtsOne thing I've learned in life: NEVER ask "What's the worst thing that could happen?"
Nervously looking over my shoulder at this blog since: Thursday, August 26, 2004Squidsquirtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521427577588027119noreply@blogger.comBlogger257125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834402995689338982.post-28341478773232514822021-04-23T03:09:00.001-07:002021-04-23T03:24:34.408-07:00How to Boil an Egg<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 107%;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWTqwDT5g5R7KxeK8fLoZOJ8dxJa0s4sabMqsKtvDOiwjSNHKsTJE5eWejopI3_5DTAwrclhGhsUZe9n3o4fs0lnzjw3pHiKcrHETJ2JmqU5GgyjigSRc33E5O1OShAKs2x2v0SkmaNHg/s516/eggy.PNG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="516" data-original-width="408" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWTqwDT5g5R7KxeK8fLoZOJ8dxJa0s4sabMqsKtvDOiwjSNHKsTJE5eWejopI3_5DTAwrclhGhsUZe9n3o4fs0lnzjw3pHiKcrHETJ2JmqU5GgyjigSRc33E5O1OShAKs2x2v0SkmaNHg/s320/eggy.PNG" /></a></div><br />As kids, an easy meal
we often had was boiled eggs with toast. Cheap, filling and delicious. Here’s a
deeper look at this breakfast or dinner staple, with plenty of extraneous details:<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 107%;">I don’t mean the
chicken or the egg discussion. Everyone knows that chickens had to be invented
first. The real primary lesson is not to explain to a child that an egg comes
out of a chicken’s butt*, especially while the child is eating an egg.<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">*According to howitworksdaily.com
the orifice through which an egg leaves the chicken is called the vent.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">To boil an egg (let’s
assume we’re talking about a regular chicken egg), you need an egg, water,
salt, a pot and a stove. Recipes leave out things like slotted spoons, but you’ll
need one of those, too.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">It takes a bit of time
for a little pot of water to come to a rolling boil (salt helps speed up the
process). Don’t get distracted during this time by daydreams such as wondering
about the expression “the pot calling the kettle black”. Both my pot and kettle
are stainless steel, and neither one has a mouth, so there’s no name-calling
going on at all.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Back to the water.
Water, water, everywhere, said Samuel Taylor Coleridge in Rime of the Ancient
Mariner, and he wasn’t referring to a pot boiling over. Funnily enough, that
poem is all based around the mythology of the albatross and the terrible
results of killing one when at sea:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">‘God save thee, ancient Mariner!<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">From the fiends, that plague thee
thus!<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Why look'st thou so?'—With my
cross-bow<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I shot the ALBATROSS.’</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">No, the albatross only
lays one egg every few years, so eating those is more than a little mean.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Water. We take it for
granted, but you can always use the water after cooking to flush your loo or to
gargle if you happen to have tonsillitis. We don’t waste water.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><b>A cracking good time!</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">There’s nothing more disappointing
in this world than having an egg crack when you place it in boiling water.
Okay, perhaps there are some contenders for bigger disappointments, but let’s
keep focusing on that egg. All the best chefs are focus-driven.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">A rolling boil isn’t
just one or two desultory bubbles, the water should be seething like an aunty
at church when her child burps loudly in between hymns. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Gently roll the egg
into the water using a slotted spoon. Told you we’d need one. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The next bit is
critical! According to egg scientists, an egg must be boiled for exactly three
minutes if you live at the coast or for a little longer if you’re inland.
Something to do with, um, altitude and science pressure and stuff.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Three minutes: slightly
longer than the average pop song unless that song is Hotel California, the
most-played song in the world on the radio, which drones on and on for a
whopping six minutes and thirty seconds.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Interestingly, the
three-minute pop song has its origins in the seven-inch 45 single format. Even
though digital technology has superceded that, the length of the song preferred
by radio DJs remains at three minutes. According to Wired, the ideal length of
a song is actually 2:42, as in Tom Petty's hit "Don't Do Me Like
That". Tom was probably not talking about eggs, though.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">So let’s say you press
play, the song runs though and you are ready to take your egg out.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Did you forget
something? Of course! You didn’t put your bread in the toaster. Rookie mistake.
Let’s say you remembered, though. Three minutes is also enough time to butter
your toast and to cut it into long strips, or soldiers.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Former UK Prime Minister
John Major was famously quoted as saying he preferred to eat his boiled egg
with toast soldiers, and that really is the only way to do it. Dunked into the
hot, runny golden yolk.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">A memory from childhood
is that my mum would serve us boiled eggs in proper eggcups with spoons made
out of some kind of horn, probably carved goat horn. I have no idea why, but
those were our egg spoons.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Some people prefer
their eggs to be hard and crumbly, but this is not about those monsters. This
is for people who like eggs done correctly.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Another memory: I was
perhaps four or five. I had annoyed my mother by complaining about the food and
she insisted I eat everything. So I did. Shell and all.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The best way to open
the egg, once it has been transferred to a proper egg cup is to slice off the
top fifth of the egg with a knife to reveal the yolk without spilling the yolk
all over the place. Egg yolk is harder to remove from clothing than
bloodstains.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">You can use the
leftover shell to annoy snails in your garden or simply dispose of it in the bin.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">That’s it. An easy
breakfast suggestion, although it’s just as good for dinner.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Let me know if I left anything
out…</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Or<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><b>The quick version:</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Ingredients:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">An egg.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Water.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Salt.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Method:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Bring salted water to a
rolling boil in a small pot, gently add room-temperature egg (to avoid it
splitting).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">If at coast, boil for
three minutes a few seconds longer if inland.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Serve with
buttered toast soldiers, salt and pepper to taste.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>Squidsquirtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521427577588027119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834402995689338982.post-37481514445745227872020-12-17T04:21:00.001-08:002020-12-17T04:21:38.270-08:00Toronto '73<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQNmUgngxYIAkmaOnVqLBwPE2M2lvdSdrImOO0kECQQh4EwJOgC2tihSo1epn73w1r3Ub-qmjfQ0K2tDQtIx4kTireMM9gSKadab6lPYKjIBlQYAxrEulKYkuY1pSWzkdu0C0RYxDSDkk/s2048/20201212_104310.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1451" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQNmUgngxYIAkmaOnVqLBwPE2M2lvdSdrImOO0kECQQh4EwJOgC2tihSo1epn73w1r3Ub-qmjfQ0K2tDQtIx4kTireMM9gSKadab6lPYKjIBlQYAxrEulKYkuY1pSWzkdu0C0RYxDSDkk/w227-h320/20201212_104310.jpg" width="227" /></a></div>It was cold out on the water<p></p>
After the flight to NYC,<br />
A ferry sliced through syrupy ripples,<br />
Back in '73.<br />
In search of the promise of an endless summer,<br />
Suntanned faces, hair around our cheeks,<br />
Blue skies that went on forever - <br />
Well, in the Polaroids we kept at least.<div><br />
They were busy with construction of what would be (for a short time anyway),<br />
The tallest building in the world,<br />
Canada's National Tower, <br />
553.3 metres tall on its completion in 1975,<br />
Keeping the dream of the Montreal Olympics and Canadians alive.</div><div><br />
But we kept our eyes on the road, <br />
Through forests and past lakes that looked like spilled ink.<br />
In a Pontiac that was a couple of years old:<br />
Mom and dad in the front,<br />
Me and my brother in the back, playing<br />
Eye Spy until the arguing grew and grew so that my mother could barely think...</div><div><br />
It wasn't the hottest summer on record that year,<br />
But still the ground became cracked with<br />
Lightning bolt-shaped lines as even the weeds gave up looking for moisture.<br />
There were long days stretching into evenings around the barbecue</div><div>After the sun scorched swimming costume silhouettes onto reddened bodies, in this new world pasture.</div><div><br />
I spent some time in hospitals there in Toronto, my giant Donald Duck stuffed toy filling up the cot,<br />
But I can't remember much of that at all, no, and that's maybe for the best.<br />
A day trip down to Niagara Falls was a blast, the wide expanse of water plunging over and over into another country, just like us.<br />
I hurled my toy train into the mists there and it's probably still sitting on a damp ledge, being spotted by honeymooning couples,<br />
Year after year: hey what's that down there - looks like a train - they'd laugh and return to their heart-shaped bed,<br />
To make a railroad rhythm of their own.</div><div><br />
Yeah, we didn't stay forever the way it had been planned, but flew out in just a couple of seasons,<br />
Seasons spent in Toronto '73.<br />
Seasons spent, came and went,<br />
In Toronto '73.<!--/data/user/0/com.samsung.android.app.notes/files/clipdata/clipdata_201217_141119_194.sdoc--></div>Squidsquirtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521427577588027119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834402995689338982.post-45225202492722373692020-11-30T01:30:00.001-08:002020-11-30T01:30:59.792-08:0050 scribblings from a childhood notebook.<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDbeGrhLDQfmkaQT1hKgde8rQKvp4kcEILDkq5a0TXHKuIb09yXPpqoWkQXeX_vo3FH2fZeG0SI6JcrdncW147HZkGzi0r4cvi0DkZf1pUf0hhw5UxMDyJ-7DMedoQhKpN-18mkDxvU34/s2048/20201129_175954.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDbeGrhLDQfmkaQT1hKgde8rQKvp4kcEILDkq5a0TXHKuIb09yXPpqoWkQXeX_vo3FH2fZeG0SI6JcrdncW147HZkGzi0r4cvi0DkZf1pUf0hhw5UxMDyJ-7DMedoQhKpN-18mkDxvU34/w320-h320/20201129_175954.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="text-align: left;">Memories,
like watercolours, bleed into each other, creating shades that only exist in the
imagination.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;">My fist is clasped
around a branch, recently stripped from a weeping willow. Willows are best when
you want to make a bow and arrow – not in the fashion of the ancient longbows
that needed to be made of stronger wood – but, for the purposes of a childhood
game, just right.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Fingers
sticky with sap, the penknife I’d been given peeled away the bark. I’d
sharpened it against a brick to the point that it frequently sliced my fingers
open for a brief spurt of blood fascination that tasted as metallic as the blade
itself.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Down among
a copse of trees and bushes – an oak, elderberries and a chaotic stretch of
brambles with their sweet, black berries and the fringes of nettles below – I was
a knight. A knight with no armour, just a stick sword and my bow and arrow,
ready for… something.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The donkey
tree was a good place to think, with its enigmatic trunk that dipped parallel
to the ground forming a comfortable seat. You could sit there with your feet
swinging for hours, dreaming of treehouses and rubbing the moss away with
calloused hands. A rope dangled from higher up in the tree, and there was
another rope in a tree nearby, but any attempt at a Tarzan swing from one to
the other ended up in a breathless bump on the damp ground below, with skinned
fingers.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Long walks
with families had taught me the lore of the meadows: buttercups, when held to
your chin, reflected yellow - you loved butter. Dock leaves calmed the white
rash of nettle stings. Spit blobs on grass belong to insects. Streams can be
dammed with rotting piles of wood and cabbage white butterflies are hard to track
on their flight paths as they dance into the sun, making you squint. Many
plants and berries are edible, just like that, while others will kill you.
There’s neither fair nor unfair to that balance, it just <i>is</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It’s not
wise to shelter under a tree in a thunderstorm, with the dense, rich smell of
the earth rising in an eerie warmth to your nose, but it’s the best place to
watch the whole world turn to water. Heavy drops of rain are like the first
tears of grief before they multiply into the lashing rage of mourning.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I knew
every blade of grass – or so it seemed. A single head of cow parsley bobbed in
front of an old gate that I never entered, behind which there was an empty
swimming pool, a shallow one, perhaps hundred years old and an abandoned car.
In those places, older kids had been with their confusing litter and graffiti.
One boy had lost an eye after lighting something and tossing it into the petrol
tank of the car, causing a brief blast of fire and terror that changed his life
forever.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Up on the
road, the kids rode their bikes in listless circles, trying out skids into
gravel patches or wobbling their wheelies as they tried to ride without holding
onto handlebars. We’d turn an old tractor innertube into a toy and roll inside
it down the same hill that was, in winter, perfect for sliding down on a
kitchen tray across the snow. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I should
let these memories rest, but they bubble up. They don’t deserve to vanish just yet.
They have no impact at all on who I am now, this grown up person who can Google
everything except memory. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Turning
fifty years old is to look out across time and recall those experiences as if I
was, at one time, as wild as Tom Sawyer and innocent as Huckleberry Finn. The difference
is that those kids never existed – my childhood did (at least, I think it did).<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Long may
these painted memories continue to wash over me.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Squidsquirtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521427577588027119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834402995689338982.post-48249741282142144542020-10-08T10:28:00.001-07:002020-10-08T10:28:38.620-07:00My tennis ball is 18 (WARNING: traces of nuts).<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA9TyE3GmGSi408Kxhyphenhyphenlv9HdGkv4Q94vfj-uLzurjiT5qgc66X_LGlYmKoB8wse7j16dvM0oFx8X3JeihR_iUP3Qiv7Bkj-cwFIY0FXKq9nNYJ_CPIVPVTP_tjLxhmEqhjQX9PxokpN50/s566/IMG_20201008_063453_141.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="566" data-original-width="453" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA9TyE3GmGSi408Kxhyphenhyphenlv9HdGkv4Q94vfj-uLzurjiT5qgc66X_LGlYmKoB8wse7j16dvM0oFx8X3JeihR_iUP3Qiv7Bkj-cwFIY0FXKq9nNYJ_CPIVPVTP_tjLxhmEqhjQX9PxokpN50/s320/IMG_20201008_063453_141.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p>I cupped my hand around the back of your head, your small, pink face with its puckered mouth and closed eyes seeming too small to be human. Baggy outfits, nappies that fit like comical sacks covering you from your thighs as thin and curved as bananas over your entire waist. Weightless. </p><p>Doctors and specialists threw out thoughtless suggestions about your future health – she’ll always be small, might have problems with this and that. They didn’t say it, but I heard that old curse from times when farmers knew how to size up the newborn young in spring: runt. </p><p>No, no, no. From the first day, my whole being has refuted them – you were tiny, the smallest baby I’d ever seen and held, but you were utterly perfect. </p><p>Within a few months you grew to be a solid ball of happy baby. Charming fat wrists and ankles and delightful cheeks. </p><p>Oh, those early years were a blur, with your toddler brother hurtling around on his plastic bike with the grating wheels, the endless laundry, cleaning and impossible time management. Mobility was your chance to get closer to the action – you refused to sleep, especially not in your bed. You’d have your bedtime story, feign sleep for a bit and then emerge like a tiny intruder later on. I’d find you sleeping in the passage, trailing your blankie like a cape, or just on the floor next to your bed, with your doll, Middle Baby, at your side.</p><p>A memory – the time you actually broke all the rules of possibility by falling asleep standing up, arms on your bed, feet on the floor, knees dipping from side to side, but managing it. </p><p>From early on, you were considerate – perhaps wanting to maintain the status quo and avoid cross voices, but then making sure that people around you were happy. Always ready with an infectious chuckle but just as likely to have huge tears wobbling on your eyelids. Emotions that refused to stay hidden.</p><p>It’s hard for a child whose emotions are so visible, you can’t pretend to be anything other than what you are, but, on the whole, you’ve been a happy one.</p><p>I think your peanut allergy forced you to take on a level of maturity that was unusual – taking care to ask at birthday parties if the snacks had any nuts in them and learning to read food packaging hieroglyphics early on for the telltale “ALLERGIES” legend. Other kids could gleefully stuff their faces, while you had to slow things down and make sure that it was okay, sometimes politely declining treats unless full assurance could be provided.</p><p>The acceleration of childhood was prevalent with you as you careened though primary and then high school, developing a fierce determination to achieve along with a strongly developed sense of right and wrong and the desire to see good vs. evil identified and encouraged or avoided, accordingly.</p><p>Some children are child prodigies, precocious in their natural abilities – your genius has been systematically earned through hard work. </p><p>Best of all, you seek to be fair in your dealings with people and analytical in the ways in which you accept humanity. I admire your growth as a person and that you prioritise justice, recognising that we’re never too old to learn more about people, life and how it all works.</p><p>I’d like to say that you can be whatever you choose to be but we both know that’s not true. Life can get in the way – not everyone can be a success at their dream future scenario - but I am convinced that you are determined enough to take your circumstances and overcome trials and challenges. Your fierce heart is your superpower. </p><p>To anyone, ever, past, present and future, who has underestimated you or pigeonholed you as quiet, small, or undermined you as a person, I know you will prove them wrong not out of spite, but because you are an exceptional woman entirely capable of writing your own story, with deep veins of humour, compassion and joy running through it like lines of crystal in immovable granite.</p><p>I’ll always be on your side, even as you move towards independence – I’ll always be that proud dad cupping your tennis ball head in my hands, imagining the very best for you.</p><p>Xxx</p><p>Dad.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Squidsquirtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521427577588027119noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834402995689338982.post-12834350745203250472020-07-28T02:01:00.002-07:002020-07-28T02:01:58.590-07:00Last Will and Testament of a Distant Aunt<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhczbBOt2HjIwrkZe-AivnBMg7hGbkQpUvQtjy1pkgqIFRXB77BrLWxpxXRbdN5eUFln6QyqVnoWSluHcuvsqLyaaM6BZC5jntSYuHRoANf49s-cTXJm6gybeIy5q54Kir4R6GqFazo7N4/s1600/spoon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="852" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhczbBOt2HjIwrkZe-AivnBMg7hGbkQpUvQtjy1pkgqIFRXB77BrLWxpxXRbdN5eUFln6QyqVnoWSluHcuvsqLyaaM6BZC5jntSYuHRoANf49s-cTXJm6gybeIy5q54Kir4R6GqFazo7N4/s320/spoon.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The attorney’s office
wasn’t what he’d expected – instead of a red-spined law library, there was a yellowing
stack of old National Geographic magazines on a bookshelf next to a few old photographs
in black and white. A parasol plant skulked in one corner, its leaves fidgeting
with every turn of the fan. Darren looked at the desk once again, nonplussed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">A spoon. A wooden
spoon, to be more precise. Not carved with any kind of ornamentation nor
wrapped in felt or velvet – just an ordinary spoon, lying there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">His attorney coughed. <i>That’s
it, that’s the… bequest.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Darren reviewed his
memories for any indication of how this should have come to pass. His aunt had
been a bit of an enigma, never adopting the route of marriage and procreation
the way her siblings had. He had vague recollections of her house being full of
decorations and paintings, original artworks that carried the faint grooves of
the artist’s brushes in the heavy lines that she seemed to prefer. There were
kilims and lamps, and perhaps an old piano somewhere under a stack of books –
he couldn’t quite be sure if he’d made that up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">A spoon. It was written
in the will as THE spoon, as if it were a gold pocket watch or a small cottage
in the French countryside. There, next to the spoon: his name.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">All he had with him was
a newspaper, so he wrapped up this curious effect and tucked it under his arm.
After all, a will isn’t just about getting things, it’s a moment of reflection
captured in a document. He puzzled at the link between his name and a wooden
spoon but couldn’t make a connection.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">That evening, he sat in
his lounge with the doors to the balcony opened up. He could feel a gentle breeze
and smell the fragrances of the garden as he relaxed. He didn’t cook all that
often – it was just him, and it seemed extravagant to prepare food for one
person, but today he felt like the alchemy of the kitchen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">If he was completely
honest, it was a magnificent kitchen. A massive gas oven dominated, with endless
cupboards and surfaces all bracketing a spacious island where he preferred to
prepare the food.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">He had many appliances
that he’d tried out, from air fryers to egg boilers, but still enjoyed the physical
energy of chopping, stirring, pouring. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Emptying his fridge, he
assembled various ingredients like spectators at a sports event, all lined up
and ready to get engrossed in the action.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">It’s important to
honour family, Darren thought to himself as he took a sip from a large glass,
before unwrapping the wooden spoon from its newspaper nest of headlines and
advertisements.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The spoon was the length
of his forearm and blackened on the curve of the bowl, slightly worn down on the
left-hand side from incessant stirring.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">As he held it,
something he couldn’t quite articulate happened. It was as if a warm blast of
energy blew up his fingers and into his arms. A burst of images filled his mind
– casserole dishes, rich puddings, platters groaning with the weight of snacks
and party food. He could smell spices and herbs, hear the sounds of knifes and
forks against porcelain and the faint giggle of laughter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">He remembered how he
and his brothers would flinch instinctively when they saw that same wooden
spoon, a symbol of rebuke – had it been in their mother’s hands – but in his
aunt’s kitchen it was as powerful as Excalibur, able to turn peasants into
royalty, an instrument of myth and legend.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">He knew, then, that his
aunt hadn’t just left him a spoon, she’d dubbed him heir and recipient of her immense
legacy, a legacy passed down over centuries, building an impregnable strength
with each successive owner. In this kitchen, he had become regal with that
simple gesture, as gentle as the tap of a sword on a shoulder commissioning a
knight into service.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Darren held the spoon
up to the lights, and murmured a commitment that he swore to honour, always; to
be a fine Servant of the Spoon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Back in the
office, the old attorney smiled as he turned the pages of the will, remembering
how Darren’s aunt had insisted on the inclusion of that spoon, before signing
over her immense wealth to The Long Home for Retired Dachshunds. She was no
fool – she understood the ways of people. Always had.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />Squidsquirtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521427577588027119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834402995689338982.post-68573251615945552382020-04-23T04:57:00.000-07:002020-04-23T04:57:02.051-07:00When raindrops race<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdKZNkFSuE8fNGQn9sYgY_0STdNzRQ3SMXsD4S3xU2otzPBuAOa0iuC6tzg8vAX3S1FbpWRIst5_O2bfcE1q7IDfRs8W9oTqjp85pciWrMbuZ9Kz7qdqq0-jhqfpDvpZaqA43ZJ-_Jkvk/s1600/rain-raindrop-wet-water.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="607" data-original-width="910" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdKZNkFSuE8fNGQn9sYgY_0STdNzRQ3SMXsD4S3xU2otzPBuAOa0iuC6tzg8vAX3S1FbpWRIst5_O2bfcE1q7IDfRs8W9oTqjp85pciWrMbuZ9Kz7qdqq0-jhqfpDvpZaqA43ZJ-_Jkvk/s320/rain-raindrop-wet-water.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Strange details
stick in your mind from childhood. A memory isn’t a linear thread that has a
beginning, middle and end, it just floats into view uninvited, a moth exposed
by a peculiar flame just for an instant.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Travelling
as a family when I was a kid was a big deal. I don’t recall practical details –
perhaps my dad filled up with petrol at the pump they had at the factory, and
my mum packed our bags for us. In any event, the responsibilities I’d have
would be to take along something to keep myself engaged for the trip.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Inevitably,
this would involve looking aghast at the paper and pens I’d brought as I
realised the bumps of the road made it impossible to create something
meaningful, like a picture of Tarzan swinging on his impractical lianas from
tree to tree (I’d tried that too many times with ropes and had the calloused
palms and bruises to prove it), or maybe a knight with a broadsword like the
one we’d seen another summer at that castle with the moat where swans drifted
in their creamy arrogance.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No, drawing
was out. My two brothers had brought things of their own. The eldest always
seemed to get it right – after all, where he had the Lone Ranger action figure,
I had Tonto. He got Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader, while I got Han Solo and a
stormtrooper. He’d have brought just the right toy and created a base in the corner
of the back seat he’d claimed after much bickering and negotiated pleas from my
mum. I want the window! I want the middle seat! I was here first! You rode
there last time… My younger brother would probably have a stuffed toy of some
sort – maybe the always-soggy bear he’d named, mystifyingly, Sophie Jesus. And
a rusk – so bear and rusk would take alternate trips to his mouth.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The best
trips happened at night, with cat’s eyes flickering out of the evening fog and
street lights at regular intervals clocking out progress. It would still be
possible (when it was early enough) to play I Spy with everyone until we got
annoyed with each other and one of us would accuse the other of cheating. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mum would
offer us our travel food – her go-to meals would be hard-boiled eggs, ham rolls
sweating in their containers and maybe an apple. Eggs would bring about a
furious round of bickering about who let off a fart while my dad would grin
fiendishly in the rear view mirror: guilty.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Each road
sign would be the closest I’d ever get to some of these towns, and, if this was
a trip we’d done before, I’d know which ones to watch out for. A personal favourite
was the one for the town Darlingscott, a blip on the rural map that often
passed us by with the stench of fields ablaze as farmers prepared the land for
the next planting. There’d be cows to shout at from the car, murmurings that
one of my brothers felt car sick and, if we were lucky, a tin of boiled sweets
passed around (always try for the red sweet, don’t pick the… yellow… oh, man!).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’d often
get a runny nose, and mum would offer me a tissue that smelt like Chanel No. 5
from her handbag, but I’d mostly opt for my sleeve.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The real
race was when it inevitably started raining, the wipers smearing the view ahead
with rippling waves. On the side windows, two raindrops would judder into view,
seeming to be held in space and weightless by the air currents that swept past
the car. They’d twitch and zigzag their way down the glass, one darting ahead
and then pausing to let the other gain ground. Too soon, they’d vanish into the
rubber frame and I’d look for the next candidates to assert themselves.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My parents
would be silent, mostly, occasionally squeezing each other’s thighs to remind themselves
that we’d soon be wherever we were heading.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As we
arrived, we’d be admonished to be on our best behaviour – and, with the
prospect of fun on the cards, my brothers and I would call an unspoken truce,
to be broken only on the trip back.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My parents
have left on that trip forever now, and, like raindrops on a window pane, they’re
always on the move, shifting into an increasingly blurry landscape that’s made
up of fewer and fewer memories, memories that flutter unbidden like moths into
view and then away again.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />Squidsquirtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521427577588027119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834402995689338982.post-49053255892647924302019-11-29T03:35:00.000-08:002019-11-29T03:35:22.267-08:00Older than time (and Sun Tzu)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgel5OyCz-2l5-RBFXdrGKXMsE4KKV13OXScdYPs2G06v1tHNl3ZH_9UkrX2JcShfe-1Q68JIbDiqGIBjDE8Y7kuPxePccShClcZvwtXNHaeyYT6r53FsPLXOEu6qC0uhENoqgcaGtajNQ/s1600/sun+tzu.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgel5OyCz-2l5-RBFXdrGKXMsE4KKV13OXScdYPs2G06v1tHNl3ZH_9UkrX2JcShfe-1Q68JIbDiqGIBjDE8Y7kuPxePccShClcZvwtXNHaeyYT6r53FsPLXOEu6qC0uhENoqgcaGtajNQ/s320/sun+tzu.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">There are some
notable people from history who died at the age of 48.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">I mean, people
in history are supposed to be old, right? If you’re in an oil painting or a
black and white photo, that adds a hundred years to your age. It must take decades
to accumulate the kind of fame that translates to history books and statues, to
odes and tributes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">I’ll give you some context.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Sun Tzu
(author, The Art of War) and Khalil Gibran (The Prophet). Dead at 48.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">People as
disparate as Whitney Houston and Al Capone. Dead, 48.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">An entire
monarch! Charles l, King of England. Cecil (damned) John Rhodes. Graham Chapman
of Monty Python.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Hey, man, you
guys all died at the age of 48.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">My own longevity
benchmarks are people like Elvis, dead at 42, and John Lennon, 40.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Hell, Paul
McCartney has been alive for nearly twice as long as Lennon was.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Forget the 27
Club, those kids with lives swallowed by drugs, booze and bad driving (Hendrix,
Cobain, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Brian Jones), or even that idiot heroin
addict Sid Vicious – dead at 21, there are swathes of people throughout history
whose lives ended less glamorously in their thirties or forties.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">It’s no longer
a tragedy if you make it as far as your forties before dying.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">According to a
whack of articles and estimates we are given the expectation that we’ll live
into our 70s in a first-world environment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">That means middle
age, as a concept, should cover about a decade somewhere in our thirties. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The thing is, a
decade sounds like a long period. We’ve grown up with reverence for the 60s, 70s
and 80s as if they’re a cultural talisman instead of a blur of fashion, music,
architecture, art and design. A decade passes like a whim.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">I may have a
couple of decades left. Maybe. Too few years to leave an iconic stain on
history, that’s for sure. It could even just be months that I have left.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">But you guys
who died at 48 or younger? I beat you suckers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">You’re probably
younger than I am – almost everyone is, these days, but take a moment to consider
that your age is a rug that gets pulled out from under you before you can say “happy
birthday”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">If you’re
looking for me, I’ll be remembering making forts for my plastic figures out of
string and twigs and chewing my teddy bear’s ear. I vividly remember the
toothmarks on my sippy cup, so don’t speak to me of legacies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">I’m still a
child.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">49 tomorrow.</span></div>
Squidsquirtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521427577588027119noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834402995689338982.post-53379996973427730812019-09-23T02:43:00.000-07:002019-09-23T02:43:31.784-07:00A whisper is still spoken<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwmKP83s8ULQsTeBvdHLgr0mHgo3x8rnOXLaauJcmWEuNccTg4q6Y42KpRKPQfQlhsK8okB5dlZPFKuoVd0qpwta0h7Nwf0vLM75ABD4vSA1jCUGfFdKpS9HsJYHxa9LHdFTJoMEuA3uE/s1600/field.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="607" data-original-width="444" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwmKP83s8ULQsTeBvdHLgr0mHgo3x8rnOXLaauJcmWEuNccTg4q6Y42KpRKPQfQlhsK8okB5dlZPFKuoVd0qpwta0h7Nwf0vLM75ABD4vSA1jCUGfFdKpS9HsJYHxa9LHdFTJoMEuA3uE/s320/field.JPG" width="234" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The black dog is restless, backwards and forwards against
the fence, sniffing furiously at unseen, anticipated forces. Sneezing
occasionally and bucking its head. Its breath is warm and rank, meaty.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">There, far beyond the gate, a path leads up to the
meadow where daffodils grow in the more sheltered parts, a patch of yellow narcissus.
The flowers nod at their reflection in the stream when it whisks down the
spring rains, heads bobbing in acknowledgement of their own fugitive beauty. Transitory.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">The peaty soil beneath the bulbs is rich with winter’s
preserved decay, earthworms diving in and out of thrusted tunnels with blind
glee.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">Grey clouds tumble in on themselves like dirty sheets
in a washing machine, rolling and falling over the hills and promising sheets
of rain in the afternoon, maybe sooner. The sun is undecided, casting bursts of
intense heat and then retreating.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">Longer blades of grass cow down in the breeze, forming
a network of sacred arches under which spiders hurry themselves to supplication,
forelegs fussing at the disturbance in the air, their dew-laced webs like lacy lingerie
rumours set to entrap unthinking flies.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">Before the rain comes in force, its scent is driven
ahead, a petrichor spirit summoned from the soil itself in some mystical vacuum.
It’s a promise all on its own.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">Up in the sky, a single leaf spirals – if you could
see such details, you’d note a ladybird that has stowed away on it, bright red
carapace and jet-black dots like the eyes of a demon. It’s heading out there
into the storm without any understanding of where it’ll land.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">Perhaps, it won’t land at all.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />Squidsquirtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521427577588027119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834402995689338982.post-53751929503195323612019-08-29T04:31:00.000-07:002019-08-29T04:31:51.117-07:00A kid, napping<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9cIT05v_BrqxTaAUKF4SFW6j2qiML5w9kCk4uBz6vwVFqUThJQ5au0wTLNiy1OQu7pgw69nJcfJHnI9aN_nIgXuqt7KqEYdCvXb5nZHtdPTXoiz_iB8VmZ8IFxzChSukGlmSw-Q1IjLI/s1600/20190829_132652.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="958" data-original-width="870" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9cIT05v_BrqxTaAUKF4SFW6j2qiML5w9kCk4uBz6vwVFqUThJQ5au0wTLNiy1OQu7pgw69nJcfJHnI9aN_nIgXuqt7KqEYdCvXb5nZHtdPTXoiz_iB8VmZ8IFxzChSukGlmSw-Q1IjLI/s320/20190829_132652.jpg" width="290" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“Terrible about that tanker fire in Nigeria”, I say to
no one in particular. “Worse, still, there’s that story about the bird flu
hitting ostrich farms in the Karoo”. It’s today. I can see that by the date on the
top right-hand side of the newspaper. Your face is next to it, eyes squinting
as if unused to the light. I notice that your hair needs a trim; there are
curls like spring tide waves over your ears and eyebrows. You’re holding up the
Times. Proof of life, I guess.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">It’s been a decade since you vanished on the way to the
shop where I presumed you’d wanted to get a packet of chips or chewing gum. Some
small treat to ease the passage of the day. It took a couple of hours to notice
you were gone. I mean, how do you notice the absence of a person? There have
been times when I barely noticed when you were in the room, fiddling with your
phone or adjusting the volume on the Hi-Fi when a favourite song came on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Then I remember how it was to watch you sleep, with
your chest rising and falling with each breath, an exhalation of carbon dioxide
that smelled a bit like a hamster would if it rolled in jam. Earthy and sweet.
Years of childhood pass by with parents grading themselves on basic milestones:
<i>child can brush own teeth – does so without asking, child can actually
notice a used tissue on a countertop and help it migrate to a bin</i>. Small,
meaningful steps towards adulthood.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">In sleep, the face of a child glows like a peach in the
warmth of the summer sun, pink cheeks, soft fuzz. A soft toy, misshapen by
years of being held through fevers and accidents with the necessary washing
those call for is tucked under your chin like a telephone, listening to the
confessions of nightmares and dreams.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">There’s no newspaper, of course. No proof of life
required.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">You didn’t disappear at all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">You just grew up. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">One moment, an infant with hopeful requests for snacks,
the next, an adult, closing the front door with glee at the freedom it
represented.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I remember how I let my guard down a few months back.
At a low ebb, I was standing crying in the kitchen. Sobbing, really.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">You came to me and hugged me, comforted me, told me it
will be alright.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">My son. My grownup son.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">It’s getting better every day, as The Beatles said.
And we’ll get through this life together, kid, you and me – ridiculous in our
adult suits in this fancy-dress party of a life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Love you, son.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Squidsquirtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521427577588027119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834402995689338982.post-66088037134107801452019-08-28T03:21:00.000-07:002019-08-28T03:21:14.946-07:00The Lasts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_IIg7CBP2uOUdHl8VTeXbifinCGZkHim2IgoQfbDkRlSXHy8uqxvjPrh1322cbmaLWLk4Gid5aWE-RHXQry_8aHbEFUL-7LQItftVmxq0TO9khH9q3middqhoC8wL5CyIQzybH8Tsl4g/s1600/clock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_IIg7CBP2uOUdHl8VTeXbifinCGZkHim2IgoQfbDkRlSXHy8uqxvjPrh1322cbmaLWLk4Gid5aWE-RHXQry_8aHbEFUL-7LQItftVmxq0TO9khH9q3middqhoC8wL5CyIQzybH8Tsl4g/s1600/clock.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Firsts are remarkable. The first time you walk into a
new city from a strange airport, the first time you explore a new kind of food.
So many <i>firsts</i> still to do, but the <i>lasts </i>are often forgotten
about.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Do you remember the last time you used crayons as a
child, making those infernal wax sticks skid across a page without snapping in
two?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Or that time your mum cut your toast into soldiers for
your boiled egg while you fussed about bits of shell getting in the way until
you crunched them like broken bird-glass in your mouth?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">That favourite toy you had: for me, those Star Wars
action figures whose forays onto homemade ziplines into forts made from
shoeboxes and bits of foil helped ease my years until suddenly, they were…
gone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The blurry recollection of the last time you had a
conversation with someone before they died and the gift of sharing a chat was
gone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The exact moment my last baby tooth exited my mouth?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The final installment on pocket money?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The time my teddy bear stopped speaking to me – and who
knows what was said?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The day I sloshed my way through melting snow with my
fingertips red and burning from the cold.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The end of a romance with a childhood sweetheart or a
best-friend friendship that petered out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The day I stopped using a microfiche or a landline.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The time a song that moved me dropped from my playlist.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The final time my child wore a nappy or I blew a raspberry
on their tummy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">We actively choose the firsts we get to enjoy, but the
<i>lasts </i>can sneak past you like a toddler dressed in a ghost sheet, with
holes cut for eyes. Stumble, stumble… gone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">On the razor edge of time, reality is sliced suddenly into
memory segments – samples on a slide we occasionally put under a defective
microscope that can’t capture the entire moment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Not often deliberate, more likely unacknowledged.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The last time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Squidsquirtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521427577588027119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834402995689338982.post-67733817088734262012019-08-27T06:40:00.000-07:002019-08-27T06:44:08.017-07:00An old pistol found in a field of wheat<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYFouTe9N2C_cHG0eJt6YcRpWNf6p7gOrTdN6wkzQYmLOdJAi5VHpOCsgHYJCXygJ9FjuR8gUc6vXwctrCxhomkFwKLoMrTPPO20cnWErkwrkWUpYGZHcRoFGHUUnfHpQH-zhOLPqFuXQ/s1600/Van+Goghs+Gun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="330" data-original-width="620" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYFouTe9N2C_cHG0eJt6YcRpWNf6p7gOrTdN6wkzQYmLOdJAi5VHpOCsgHYJCXygJ9FjuR8gUc6vXwctrCxhomkFwKLoMrTPPO20cnWErkwrkWUpYGZHcRoFGHUUnfHpQH-zhOLPqFuXQ/s320/Van+Goghs+Gun.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I’m a<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Breeze,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">A scab on<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Either knee;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">A dead moth in a jam jar,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">A three-wheeled toy motor car.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">An elastic band too stretched to propel<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">A balsawood plane into flight or bind<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">A rolled-up poster in black and white of a famous
impressionist painting that you’re<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Supposed to colour by number.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">A felt-tipped pen with no ink,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">An oil stain on the concrete in the garage where a
brown car parked,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Once.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">A leftover half onion with its paper skin browning,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">A wizened apple, shrivelling, frowning;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I’m a mark on the wall where a child once got sick and
puked -<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Too many sweets,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">A piece of bubblegum pressed into the wall between
two bricks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I’m the ball of spit where an insect has frothed a
nest between two sticks,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">And the circular imprint of a place where a<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Woodlouse walked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I’m a go-go-ghost that dances in the moonlight,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">A paisley curtain assuming life-billows in the <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Night<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">A chipped mug that a dead person once sipped from - <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Not when they were dead, of course -<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">That would<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Be<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Stupid.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />Squidsquirtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521427577588027119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834402995689338982.post-57450734753799803472019-08-12T06:32:00.002-07:002019-08-12T06:37:12.240-07:00In Temperance<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEOi1_td974vjkJjsvC4MK8iTU7V0CwnYEMCmftuMHtYJbG8vnxwJITwhp9VTMHvqooatyGg2Wl9fE0TeuCC4Eo5Yk0HqEFcplYoOK83mCInlLIr26m6_s0sOQEXE7hFO-2qmVHYVmpvs/s1600/inside.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="460" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEOi1_td974vjkJjsvC4MK8iTU7V0CwnYEMCmftuMHtYJbG8vnxwJITwhp9VTMHvqooatyGg2Wl9fE0TeuCC4Eo5Yk0HqEFcplYoOK83mCInlLIr26m6_s0sOQEXE7hFO-2qmVHYVmpvs/s320/inside.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The dogs are circling, tussling. They rush each other,
scuffle and bounce back, haunches lowered, ears back, the whites of their eyes
flicking from side to side. They’re at play, though, so their grins are
strictly for show. In a tree above the garden there’s a pair of pigeons making
a nest for the spring, a tangled, half-hearted bowl of twigs that’ll shelter
their scrawny young. The wind blows last season’s leaves about in miniature
whirlwinds. The air itself is unsettled, both warm and breathy and icy,
whistling through the drainpipes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The dogs canter away from each other, mollified by
some unseen intervention.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">A teal loveseat under the awning embraces an old
guitar, its neck smooth with the slide of rough hands and calloused fingers,
whose curled shapes call out thrumming chords and resonant tunes when the
evening mood seems right. The body of the guitar has nicks and chips from being
slung onto the backseat of cars like a summer fling or hefted into use when the
beer has been flowing. Its gold label is fading with each year that it gains
its voice, the strings buzzing with restraint against worn frets. An hourglass
figure or a sensual eight, the curves used to being tucked into an embrace
and brought to life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">There’s the guitar player, breathing out light clouds
from a cigarette, the ash dusting his shoulders as he sits, thinking:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Air.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">That’s what music is; a re-imagining of oxygen/nitrogen/argon,
perhaps a little carbon dioxide thrown in. The music of the spheres an
elemental inclusion of the very atmosphere and, finally, the stratosphere. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">It’s corralled into harmonies and rhythms, songs and
symphonies. Sly, simple tunes and grand, eloquent explosions. But, without air,
it’s voiceless.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">He taps out a gentle beat against his thigh, hearing
the rise and fall of a melody in his mind. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Goosebumps and tears.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">That’s what music is; a chemical reaction in the body
that causes the pulse to dance against your wrist or nerve endings to hum with
life. Just as anxiety can drive your physical responses, music can get into
your pores with quiet intensity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Your breathing can echo the rise and fall of phrases;
in, out, in, out. Building up and subsiding with subliminal power.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">All this, with air.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The cathedral-like inner workings of a string
instrument with its vaulted ceilings and private alcoves, magnifying the gentle
plucking.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The smooth trachea of the wind instrument, channeling human
breath through its mystical curves.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The deep boom of a stretched drum vellum like a lung, transporting
that unworldly vibration from top to bottom.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">All this, with air.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The birds clasp onto their twigs and whisper romance
as the hounds call out to a world beyond the boundary fence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Just air.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Squidsquirtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521427577588027119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834402995689338982.post-32298943024037174682019-08-05T05:20:00.000-07:002019-08-05T20:37:21.062-07:00Semper Fi<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvGH4eYGvZTjiOGP3RnoqkqCIkBY9sHvASHG77WfwvMLh6Xh74yJpeJ7cKe0JjZb-owqXsKvYgBS_mjqmz44xI5sfjVifg1g93PjyG1k_OLqi5VUiuTc1OiMMq1B4dxIzzlUWNqMytwxU/s1600/DKT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvGH4eYGvZTjiOGP3RnoqkqCIkBY9sHvASHG77WfwvMLh6Xh74yJpeJ7cKe0JjZb-owqXsKvYgBS_mjqmz44xI5sfjVifg1g93PjyG1k_OLqi5VUiuTc1OiMMq1B4dxIzzlUWNqMytwxU/s320/DKT.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Practice, practice, practice. How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Take
the subway. Jump off at Seventh Avenue and you won’t have to walk too far.
Reach, clutch, deploy. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">On the corner of Seventh and West 57<sup>th</sup> you
can stop for a corn dog, maybe a soda. At the right time of day, you’ll see
career dog walkers with their packs, being towed like two-footed ploughs along
the sidewalk, casting glances like seeds to the left and right: awareness isn’t
an option, it’s a necessity.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">What you see comes in layers, each sweeping glance
peeling away more until you’re fully alert to everything that’s around.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">They say that ten eyewitnesses will present ten
different opinions about what they’ve seen. A single male suspect can become a
woman with a pram or a couple holding hands. A skinny kid skating morphs into
an elderly guy with a cane. Dusk or dawn change the colours of a man’s complexion
as surely as they shift the skies – a porcelain-white guy with red hair can
become a black man with a shaved head under the yellow streetlamps – just depends
on who’s doing the observation.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Same with vehicles. You’d think it would be hard to
confuse a square-backed SUV with a regular sedan, but the tricks of the mind
and memory can transform what we recall.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Gunshots. The flat <i>blat</i> of a shot is unmistakable, but
is it a volley of two, three or four shots? Did an engine backfire at the same
time? Did the sound of the shots echo against the walls of an apartment
building to multiply them? An army vet will swear blind at the source of a shot
and the weapon that discharged it. Heard it a thousand times before. An athlete
will recognize the kick of the starter’s pistol and a sailor will know the bark
of a flare. Many simply assume that gunfire is just construction work or
perhaps a motor vehicle pileup.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Point is, what do we really see or hear in the
snapshot of a moment?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Reach, clutch, deploy.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">It’s about repetition, muscle memory. Engrams of
the flesh that produce reactions faster than the mind can comprehend. Drop a
glass fifty times and you’ll get better at catching it.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Ever been to war? So much waiting around with nothing
to do and then you get spat out into action, no time to fight back laziness or
exhaustion. In seconds you can go from being a dozing nobody to a hero, before your
brain even registers that you’re awake.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Or you could be dead.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Routines, patterns, habits, conditioning.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The shine of a boot so glossy that you can see up your
own nose if you look down.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The crisp fold of a pressed shirtsleeve.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The animal scent of a shining leather belt.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Everything has its place.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Until it’s displaced.</span></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Don’t look for what’s always there, look for what’s
out of place, what doesn’t fit in, and you’ll get it. A hair on the collar,
stain on a jacket – a puddle on a sunny day.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">The incongruity of conflict.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">The subjectivity of inspection.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">The ambiguity of experience.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Stay clear of the platform...</span></span></div>
<br />Squidsquirtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521427577588027119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834402995689338982.post-20350881195514668412019-08-03T06:20:00.000-07:002019-08-03T06:20:07.637-07:00Old biscuits never die<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ85aqY64oBEfWYfOQiyICe_LsE5Jce3umSC0c5n7NpuFs2CFno0NiuvXS3qldyTXPj6T8PFX9o6IGvFHmJNtRYclAuHpq1EVYnFnd_SU52lpqoorIl1RBfZ6dkkh-38Nw6514VDwxizA/s1600/20190603_112823.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1461" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ85aqY64oBEfWYfOQiyICe_LsE5Jce3umSC0c5n7NpuFs2CFno0NiuvXS3qldyTXPj6T8PFX9o6IGvFHmJNtRYclAuHpq1EVYnFnd_SU52lpqoorIl1RBfZ6dkkh-38Nw6514VDwxizA/s320/20190603_112823.jpg" width="292" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My father
was a biscuit man. Not the Gingerbread Man, although when the factory cranked
up the machinery on certain days of the week, the sweet, sensual spicy aroma of
the ginger that went into the biscuits would engulf the town, drifting over the
fields where I played football; he worked in the factory.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Whenever I
visited him at work, I’d be led to his office which overlooked the factory
floor, passing workers at conveyer belts or the drums of chocolate that would
be spilled onto the freshly baked ovals. The smell of baking and cardboard was embedded
in the white walls and steel workings of the plant. The women would smile at us
as kids as we wandered through the bustle, observing their activity, and my
father would conceal his sense of humour behind a façade of gravitas and a
white coat as he walked with the stride of ownership from one workstation to
the next. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Biscuits
brought us to South Africa, his skills as a production manager being in demand.
He worked in the Baumann’s factory in Woodstock and then as manager at Baker’s
in Johannesburg, at what he called, with pride, ‘the largest biscuit factory in
the Southern Hemisphere’.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My older
brother and I worked in the factory in Cape Town during school holidays,
packing the warehouse or trucks, filching armloads of chocolate and sneaking
cigarettes with the workers during breaks. The workers spoke another language, and,
since we were still new to the country, we were mocked a little – they’d swear
at us in Afrikaans and laugh. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The factory
churned out endless supplies of the brands you know well, Lemon Creams, Marie
Biscuits and the ubiquitous Choice Assorted that graced the snacks table of
every NGO and PTA meeting ever held. It takes skill to get to the best ones
first.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A memory: huge
bottles of something named “cheese essence” were used to flavour crackers. A whiff
of the contents was eye-watering, it smelled like a Long Street pavement on
Sunday morning, tart and vomitous.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He’d bring
home boxloads of biscuits and I’d eat the things by the packet. He also
branched out as a manufacturer or distributor of other products. I recall the
seaweed snacks he did in the 70s, awful musty things that would probably work
well now. Chips in the style of Flings, only in bizarre flavours like raspberry
or orange. Those didn’t sell well (I imagine), so we ended up getting vast
quantities to enjoy at home.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I guess it
was a happy life for him, in the factory. Supplying biscuits to every
supermarket in the country, making sure the conveyer belts did what they were
supposed to. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There’s a
piece of me that will always remember the scent of baking biscuits, fresh
cardboard boxes and cleaning materials. It seems a far cry from what we’re
encouraged to do now – work in manufacturing – but it was a respected position
back then – and we should still be in awe of the processes that go into
producing our neatly packaged lives and the people who work to do just that.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The pic is
of a die used to stamp out those crumbly squares.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why, dad,
why – did you never manage to fix the way the top biscuit in a package is
always broken?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />Squidsquirtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521427577588027119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834402995689338982.post-75494775334266719302019-05-01T06:09:00.000-07:002019-05-01T06:09:02.072-07:00Hidden in plain sight<br />
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi55wlVFj53ZN-QgB690MqyC-IUv0b0zoZbv1Huhy6dT_l5cTm6sKDKFV31s7K_M4dEUk4y7fQxLXFIa2NKrSj9kB2YSavN8oZ87vtIfscNkzSIvpiGCLxZ2L9sz0ub_bxRR8xkLC2ZTMw/s1600/bench2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="474" data-original-width="501" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi55wlVFj53ZN-QgB690MqyC-IUv0b0zoZbv1Huhy6dT_l5cTm6sKDKFV31s7K_M4dEUk4y7fQxLXFIa2NKrSj9kB2YSavN8oZ87vtIfscNkzSIvpiGCLxZ2L9sz0ub_bxRR8xkLC2ZTMw/s200/bench2.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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A gentle breeze so soft that it is seen rather than felt in the
autumn air, flowers nodding in the hedges, leaves releasing their foothold and
drifting to the ground; there’s a stubborn fog that’s turning buildings into
movie-set facades, their angles concealed along with the depths within. The
headlights of cars appear as soon as they are gone, slowly snaking into the grey
expanse. Even the waves just visible on a truncated horizon slap themselves
down in silence, a rhythm that can only be imagined.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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On the path, a small bench has been placed, a careless
rockery on either side. Into the wood, a small plaque has been screwed, its
brass tarnished and dun. If you run your fingertips across the words, you’ll
feel a silenced story come to view, if only for a moment: a dear relative, much
loved – now gone –adored this spot, apparently, and this seat is to remember
them.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Despite the picturesque placement of this memorial, it sees far
more than the peaceful trajectory of seasons. An addict entered a final,
dreamless sleep here just weeks ago, in exactly the same place where a child
was conceived days later, in a breathless, hurried coupling that finished in
giggles and hurried straightening of clothes. Children have climbed on it,
cramming old sweet papers into its cracks, and an ancient couple use it every
week as a resting spot along their stoop-shouldered journey.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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When the path is empty, especially just before dawn and in the
last light of the day, animals and birds twitch their way across the seat,
squirrels with their scraps and fretful rubbing of paws and paranoid robins,
sparrows and thrushes dart around, one eye fixated on their surroundings,
jerky, clockwork motions.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Dogs come and go, lifting their legs and claiming each other’s
territory in a meaningless cycle. Mine, mine, mine, mine, mine. And again, on
their return. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Once a year a representative of the local council comes past
with a clipboard, inspecting the bench for its structural integrity. He ticks
off a box, gives the panels a caring slap and moves on, whistling something his
father before him used to whistle, a tune picked up in the carefree seasons
after the war.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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The fog has lifted, now, and the sun is out.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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In the distance, a family can be heard, taking a walk. Their
shoes are scuffing the path and they are laughing intermittently.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They come into view, hurry past and barely
spare a glance for this bench, tucked into its careless rockery.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Squidsquirtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521427577588027119noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834402995689338982.post-42923181185603121392015-11-28T23:33:00.001-08:002015-11-29T00:07:21.931-08:00Birthdays<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJyeFHGbYhygH1PC-tR-EhgzreGOFNypnO_lnHBDi4mwdsYpRX3S6sxRxFVSHOrkZCnQI3pDf2Zn1I_3N2IJr9CM6mYoN995dXiWJI2bM3vljfDJglb7GHIjAtwGb_muXugdYZ9OUBpIU/s1600/birth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJyeFHGbYhygH1PC-tR-EhgzreGOFNypnO_lnHBDi4mwdsYpRX3S6sxRxFVSHOrkZCnQI3pDf2Zn1I_3N2IJr9CM6mYoN995dXiWJI2bM3vljfDJglb7GHIjAtwGb_muXugdYZ9OUBpIU/s1600/birth.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">You don’t
know how many you’ll get.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Horizons
don’t draw closer, they just are. </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">They sit on life’s periphery,</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Reminding
you that there’s something beyond what you see, </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">The curved
earth dipping into eternity.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">At 45 the
simple lesson learned is this:</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Be kind,
appreciate kindness.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Kiss and
appreciate the kiss returned.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Put music
on and listen to the thoughts stirred up by collected notes.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Feel the
breeze, close your eyes and remember others.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Try not to
give up, unless you give up.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">If you do,
grow back, don’t look back; move on.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">When you
read a phrase you like, read it aloud –</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Let it roll
on your tongue like a blissful dog.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Enjoy food.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Hug even
when it makes the other person uncomfortable.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Close your
mouth to senseless arguments.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Leave your
mark on this world in hearts and minds,</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">The place
erosion cannot file away.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Sit on
drafty mountain peaks,</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Wade in
cool streams with jeans rolled up.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Turn your
collar up against the autumn winds,</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Find
shelter in doorways from sideways rains.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Life is
sensual, and senses can be hard.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Acrid
stenches, physical pain at the touch, deafening noises,</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">The taste
of bile, awful unforgettable sights.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Senses can
be good:</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">The scent
of memories, the warmth of an embrace,</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">A soothing
piece of music,</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">A meal made
from simple ingredients that satisfies the tongue,</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Seeing the
ones you love happy.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">At 45</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">The
reminder of my age is more to me than</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">The popping
candy in my knees and greying chest,</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">But a hint
to abandon the worst</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">And
appreciate the best.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">You don’t
know how many you’ll get.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Horizons
don’t draw closer, they just are. </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">They sit on life’s periphery,</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Reminding
you that there’s something beyond what you see, </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">The curved
earth dipping into eternity.</span></span></span></div>
Squidsquirtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521427577588027119noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834402995689338982.post-71565118862221075172015-05-27T05:00:00.002-07:002015-05-27T05:01:46.798-07:00Tupperware Party<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWaPsLSCrKHPholUgA-5oi5D_ghiDkjaSt7OlM8aWxBI0Vg8_lDUD6Kn3FhBLA7K8amg1rL2bOfVXtkQXorvbWwqfwpU8BDbXsQdTnCNsVzbaXaDnlzUahoW9442hvtevHgLdpHEw6oE8/s1600/1932692_10152398725979052_28016726861580026_ocricket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWaPsLSCrKHPholUgA-5oi5D_ghiDkjaSt7OlM8aWxBI0Vg8_lDUD6Kn3FhBLA7K8amg1rL2bOfVXtkQXorvbWwqfwpU8BDbXsQdTnCNsVzbaXaDnlzUahoW9442hvtevHgLdpHEw6oE8/s320/1932692_10152398725979052_28016726861580026_ocricket.jpg" width="320" /></a></i></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Always poke holes in the lids</i>, Joe reminded himself. Ever since he’d first gathered silkworms and piles of mulberry leaves, he’d learned that lesson. His uncle had helped him clean out the ice cream tub where the first batch had turned to foul-smelling mush and told him what to do next time. <i>Always poke holes in the LIDS</i>, he’d repeated.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />He liked storing things, bringing bits and pieces of nature into the house. He remembered the time his mother had come home from a Tupperware party with the entire boot of the Morris Minor filled with tubs. And how she’d struck him with that despised wooden spoon when he’d taken a couple of them and poked holes in the lids. She’d been livid.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />The lesson was confusing. <i>Sometimes</i> poke holes in the lids, then.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />Growing up the holes in the lids began to make sense. The creatures scuttling around scavenged bits of bark and handfuls of soil needed the air to breathe inside the tubs.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />He didn’t always find them the right food. He’d hold the box up to the window and peer inside, but the creatures would be on their backs, brittle legs folded in silent prayer.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />Now that he was an adult, he recognised that childhood rules can change. He still liked storing things, although Tupperware no longer suited his purpose – the company that managed to dominate the market in containing leftover food had overlooked his storage requirements.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />He preferred to let the insects and crawly things have their way in the house. He’d study them as they claimed their corners and spaces inside the cupboards. The spiders would keep their filigree larders polite distances from each other, and the moths, roaches and ants doodled their own cartography throughout the rooms.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />Joe looked at his wrist. The scar was tingling in a way that reminded him of the pain he’d felt as his mother had lashed him with the spoon, but he couldn’t recall everything that had happened the night his uncle had held him down while his mother had taken the pot of roiling cooking oil and poured it over his hands.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />The air in the basement was odd. It was damp and dry at the same time, the same way that a snake looks slick and wet, but the scales feel papery. At least the smell had lifted a bit. That was something he’d picked up very early on: Never poke holes in the lids.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />Stacks of large plastic containers formed a wall within a wall, and he gathered the insects in one hand as he lifted the lid to one of the boxes. A liquid darkness reflected back at him as he dropped the bugs inside.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />He replaced the lid. Listened to the rippling noise and smiled. A lesson his mother had taught him well.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Never poke holes in the lids</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">,</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <i>Joe</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>,</i> the ripples seemed to say, <i>never poke holes in the lids.</i></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">*************************************************************************** </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>This post was written as part of a tandem
blogging experiment. <b>SEVEN other bloggers</b> have used the same title as a prompt,
and their work will go live at the same time. None of us have seen
anyone else's posts yet, so each will take a unique angle on their blogs. Take
a look at their creative efforts at blogging <b>“Tupperware party” </b>and like,
share and comment if you've enjoyed what you read!</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>Click away on the names below: </i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://medium.com/@Kerry_Contrary" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Kerry</span></a></span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.jamespreston.org/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">James</span></a> </span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
<b>
</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.meganshead.co.za/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Megan</span></a>
</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
<b>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><a href="https://medium.com/@nick_frost/mumbai-ded21cd311ee" target="_blank">Nick </a></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><br />
<a href="https://bloggsymalone.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Dave</span></a></span><br />
</b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
<b>
</b></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 105%; margin-bottom: 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://brettfish.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Brett</span></a></span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
<b>
</b>
</span><span style="color: black; font-size: xx-small; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA;"><b><a href="https://cathjenkin.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Cath</span></a></b> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>Squidsquirtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521427577588027119noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834402995689338982.post-23698766596368661672015-05-20T04:59:00.000-07:002015-05-27T02:53:17.675-07:00Mumbai<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF53AG0jO7YwhLqiCHPvMPdPPsukrJ6_SyjDQKGXCmNDuXOOHlvEpeDIxZDjVejQAH1HXJ15ebnMFSiWCk-vosnWLwsoQx6UyoTYVlUKl4LTvAugFgO9JRzR2r1SxJLkcUBmGEkYMJSGg/s1600/mountains.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF53AG0jO7YwhLqiCHPvMPdPPsukrJ6_SyjDQKGXCmNDuXOOHlvEpeDIxZDjVejQAH1HXJ15ebnMFSiWCk-vosnWLwsoQx6UyoTYVlUKl4LTvAugFgO9JRzR2r1SxJLkcUBmGEkYMJSGg/s320/mountains.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The terrain wasn’t good on the road to Kathmandu. It had
been a couple of weeks trekking and some rough nights in the cheap hostels
along the way. The chill seemed to freeze the smells of cooking and dung in the
air, the only movement the steady flutter of <i>Lung ta</i> prayer flags tied onto the eaves
of the huts. But we’d made it.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My mother and I had planned this trip for nearly twenty
years, and for last few months had been going on longer and longer treks into
the mountains near Cape Town to prepare our muscle memory. We’d flown to
Joburg to get used to some altitude, and had wheezed our way around the
crags with amusement. We weren’t fit, just determined.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It had taken decades for me to save up the cash for
this: our trek to Base Camp in the Sagarmatha National Park, a dream to gaze up
on Mount Everest and imagine the aspirations won and lost that blew around its
icy peaks.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Perhaps it was the legends of Mallory and Irvine, the climbers
who vanished into the mountain’s mists in 1924 that inspired my mother’s
obsession with Everest. It could have been the craggy New Zealander, Edmund
Hillary and Tenzing Norgay’s riveting first ascent in the same year that Queen
Elizabeth ll sat tentatively on the throne of England for the first time. That
would have filled her imagination as a child, the little details – Norgay
leaving some chocolates on the peak as an offering, Hillary a cross.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">She’d read or collected every single book she’d come across
about Mount Everest. I’d worked in a book shop and had been her enabler. “Have
you seen this one, Mum?” I’d ask, and it would go onto her Christmas list.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">She managed to convince me with her library. Books written
by men and women of their battle through the Death Zone to conquer the
mountain, tales of the ones who remained behind, frozen into the slopes of the
hill that had conquered them.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So we planned to go there ourselves. To scoop up <i>dal</i>
with a <i>roti</i> in a darkened room on the way. Feel the coarse yak fur blanket against our faces. Laugh with the village kids as they skidded
about in the gravel and mud. Listen to the wind and the stray dogs howl and the
ring of the singing bowls in the temples. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Only this never happened. She became ill with Alzheimer’s
around the age of sixty and died five years later.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In my mind I make this trip with her. </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I book my flight to India and arrive in Mumbai with a
rucksack, ready for the connecting flight to Nepal.<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Watch the kites slicing through the thin air like souls released by the scavenging birds of sky burials. </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I hike into eternity
and beyond.</span></span> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Mumbai.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Mum, bye.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>*This is from a personal experience and is in no way meant to diminish the impact of the 2015 earthquake in Nepal experienced by the Nepalese people and the international climbing community.</i></span> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">************************************************************************</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>This post was written as part of a tandem
blogging experiment. <b>SEVEN other bloggers</b> have used the same title as a prompt,
and their work will go live at the same time. None of us have seen
anyone else's posts yet, so each will take a unique angle on their blogs. Take
a look at their creative efforts at blogging <b>“Mumbai” </b>and like,
share and comment if you've enjoyed what you read!</i></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><i>Click away on the names below: </i></b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<b>
</b></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<b>
</b></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://medium.com/@Kerry_Contrary" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Kerry</span></a></span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<b>
</b></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<b>
</b></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.jamespreston.org/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">James</span></a> </span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<b>
</b></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<b>
</b></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.meganshead.co.za/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Megan</span></a>
</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<b>
</b></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<b><span style="color: black;"> </span> </b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<b>
</b></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://medium.com/@ricegirl2" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Sarah</span></a> </span></b></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><a href="https://medium.com/@nick_frost/mumbai-ded21cd311ee" target="_blank">Nick </a></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><br />
<a href="https://bloggsymalone.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Dave</span></a></span><br />
</b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<b>
</b></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 105%; margin-bottom: 8pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://brettfish.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Brett</span></a></span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<b>
</b>
</span></span><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://cathjenkin.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Cath</span></a></b></span></span> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Squidsquirtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521427577588027119noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834402995689338982.post-30230313526876152392015-05-13T06:13:00.005-07:002015-05-13T10:07:34.642-07:00Tonight you’re mine, completely<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn338uGQrFzyNDXjEahY-ZywdrRzpRlhYJNlvrn_4sOm-tyEY91-X5fTxHLhzNcLb3IsIVXROyv_rv3AjqaS4egECSa6clFoP7F1SXrQusbu0Aitb3tKrPWGIWtt26SqNj5Sm3ANR9S9U/s1600/reflected.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn338uGQrFzyNDXjEahY-ZywdrRzpRlhYJNlvrn_4sOm-tyEY91-X5fTxHLhzNcLb3IsIVXROyv_rv3AjqaS4egECSa6clFoP7F1SXrQusbu0Aitb3tKrPWGIWtt26SqNj5Sm3ANR9S9U/s320/reflected.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It had taken the glaziers almost two days to install the
massive mirror above Scott’s bed, but he thought the effect had been worth the
wait. He was fastidious about details, and this one was the
final item he needed to cross off his list. A train rattled in the distance,
annoying him slightly. What was the point in choosing the perfect
location if the location happened to be shared by a train?</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">He’d waited five years to complete the House of Mirrors. He’d
observed as his hair had leaned towards that shade people called “silver fox”,
but hadn’t accepted that. Imported hair colour treatments once a week saw his
black locks kept in check.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Mostly it was quiet in the valley, and he liked that. The
city was too crowded for him; the crowds of people unsettled him, but up here
in the hills that rolled like sculpted breasts into the horizon he was content. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The home gym was one of his favourite places to be, watching
his taut muscles heave against the strain of the weights, a towel catching the
runnels of sweat as they dripped down his slick chest. He preferred to push his
body hard, and, in summer, would strip completely. His eyes fixed on his own mirrored
eyes in silent communication.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">He remembered the time as a teen that his parents had sent
him for therapy. They’d been worried that he had no friends, but they didn’t
know about the power of reflection. Narcissism: that was the word the
psychiatrist had mentioned in his report. Scott had laughed, a laugh he had
practised in the shower that very morning. A laugh that was scathing, derisive.
His parents hadn’t asked him to do any repeat sessions.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">They’d asked him once or twice about girls, but he’d never
seen the point. His space was his own, and the thought that lace underwear would be left lying around in the bathroom along with balms, lotions and the general detritus of femininity was too much to contemplate. Scott kept the few Scandinavian
toiletries that he had in one cupboard. They had very strict production
controls in the Scandinavian countries.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">He was still sweating after the workout, so he twisted the
mother-of-pearl handles on the hot tub and sank into the foam, eyes closed. Every
pore felt alive as he worked a straight razor across his chest and belly,
slowly down to his legs, every hard contour. The hairs collected in a container
that whirled in the water, keeping his body clean while he relaxed. After a
half an hour, he rose, dried himself and walked to his bedroom, naked.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Scott thought back to the thoughts of girls again as he lay
on his bed, looking up at the mirror on the ceiling. He sighed. The bottom left
corner of the mirror was slightly lower than the top. He’d have to get the
glazier back in. A low rumble signalled the last freight train of the evening. The
vibrations travelled through the house, gently shaking the mirrors he’d placed
on every wall.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The mirror above him made an odd grinding sound. It sagged down and he watched as the eight steel bolts slowly slid in unison out
of the plaster.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As the mirrored Scott grew bigger in an instant, Scott
smiled a wet smile of longing.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">“Tonight you’re mine, completely” he thought.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span>****************************************************************************</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none; padding: 0cm;">
</div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span>
</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span><i><span>This post was written as part of a tandem
blogging experiment. EIGHT other bloggers have used the same title as a prompt,
and their work will go live at the same time. None of us have seen
anyone else's posts yet, so each will take a unique angle on their blogs. Take
a look at their creative efforts at blogging <b>“Tonight you're mine, completely” </b>and like,
share and comment if you've enjoyed what you read!</span></i><span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span>
</span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span>
</span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><span><i><span>Click away on the names below: </span></i><span></span></span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<b><span>
</span></b></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<b><span>
</span></b></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><span><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://medium.com/@Kerry_Contrary" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Kerry</span></a></span><span></span></span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<b><span>
</span></b></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<b><span>
</span></b></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><span><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.jamespreston.org/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">James</span></a> </span><span></span></span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ah, what a day to be Queen. There were so many papers to
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">She giggled, suddenly. It must have seemed startling to
those around her, but she couldn’t help herself. A thought:<span> </span>queens are good at dancing, and
nodding their approval to the court musicians, but not that suitable for
serious things like wars, treaties, that sort of thing. At least not she, Queen
Beatrice, Child Queen of the Territories. She wasn’t even sure what <i>the territories</i>
were, but they sounded dreadfully rough.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What hurt most about being this reluctant monarch was that
her parents must have died when she was very young. So young, in fact, that not
one recollection did she have of nursing at her mother’s breast or of being
cast in the air and caught again by her father, the King. Imagine! Having to
trust her instincts when it came to etiquette meant she often let her people down. She
could tell – the disappointment would flicker across their faces.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">They tried their best, though, poor, loyal courtiers. She
smiled at them as she gathered her gown around her knees to sit in the Great
Hall for the feast. She could still hear the music playing. It was gentle and
it soothed her while her maid servant cut up her food for her. Music. Art.
Those pleased her.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The art in the Great Hall wasn’t impressive. It
looked like it had been filched from an infant's classroom somewhere in those primitive territories. Beatrice made a
decision to commission better art after the, the, the <i>eating</i> was over.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Dinner seemed to come earlier and earlier these days, and
she was glad of it. Living life exclusively in the castle had made her fret
more about the unknown, the things outside. Long, grey shapes swooped down in the evenings
and brought with them fears of dragons and <i>bigs</i> with teeth. <i>Bigs</i>. There must
be another word, but Beatrice couldn’t pluck it out of the air. It was
frustrating being only a child. She knew that the people wanted to help her but
she felt reluctant to give in to them.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The tall helper in the white
robes gave Beatrice a mouthful of <i>eat</i>. It was… it was… it was… soft. Smelled
like <i>old day</i>. That one when FALLINGFALLINGFALLINGDON'TTOUCHME!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The orderlies looked up, startled
at the sudden whimpering across the canteen. They sat back, relieved. “Don’t
worry”, one shrugged at the other, “it’s just Bea again; poor old soul forgets
she’s ninety-nine, some days”.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">*************************************************************************************** </span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i><span>This post was written as part of a tandem
blogging experiment. EIGHT other bloggers have used the same title as a prompt,
and their work will go live at the same time as this. None of us have seen
anyone else's posts yet, so each will take a unique angle on their blogs. Take
a look at their creative efforts at blogging <b>“Ninety-nine” </b>and like,
share and comment if you've enjoyed what you read!</span></i><span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i><span>Click away on the names below: </span></i><span></span></span></span></b></div>
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span></b><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://medium.com/@Kerry_Contrary" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Kerry</span></a></span><span></span></span></span></b></div>
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span></b><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span></b><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.jamespreston.org/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">James</span></a> </span><span></span></span></span></b></div>
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span></b><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span></b><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.meganshead.co.za/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Megan</span></a>
</span><span></span></span></span></b></div>
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span></b><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><span> </span></span></span></b></div>
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span></b><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12pt;">
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://medium.com/@ricegirl2" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Sarah</span></a> </span><span><br />
</span><span style="color: black;"><br />
<a href="https://bloggsymalone.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Dave</span></a></span><span><br />
<br />
</span><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://medium.com/@nick_frost" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Nick</span></a></span><span></span></span></span></b></div>
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span></b><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 105%; margin-bottom: 8pt;">
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://brettfish.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Brett</span></a></span><span></span></span></span></b></div>
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span></b><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 105%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://cathjenkin.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Cath</span></a></span></span></b> </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA;"></span></div>
<br />
</div>
Squidsquirtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521427577588027119noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834402995689338982.post-29130050704265909182015-04-29T05:00:00.000-07:002015-04-29T05:30:13.792-07:00The Art of Boredom<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I hadn’t noticed how Harry’s garden had filled up with so many
guests - shouldn’t have been there at all, actually, but had chosen today to
return a borrowed book which had haunted my conscience for over a year. That
wasn’t a good idea at all, as I was about to learn.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The book was called <b><i>The Art of Boredom</i></b>. It was a dull volume
of secrets; the literary equivalent of a vibracrete pyramid. It claimed that by
lending people things, you’d rapidly increase your circle of friends and avoid
boredom, but it lacked any convincing argument that the reader would not be
bored to tears while attempting this devious method of social sculpturing.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I couldn’t see what Harry had enjoyed about it in the first
place. He was a quick-minded man with a restless edge to him that I liked but
he could be exhausting to be around. Although he was often smiling, he seemed
to exude violence, as if his daydreams included rope, duct tape and rusty razor
blades.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">That was one of the reasons I was anxious to return his
book.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">He didn’t seem to be anywhere nearby, so I dipped my hand
into the aluminium bath filled with beer bottles and grabbed two. The book was
in my pocket, and I had hoped to surprise him by just leaving it in his
bathroom next to the copies of Samurai Monthly and the collection of animal
skulls he’d gathered after wildfires where he’d find them,
white exclamation marks among the blackened vegetation.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I wandered around the garden. Spoke to a woman I recognised
but whose name I’d forgotten on both previous occasions I had met her. She
laughed and touched my shoulder, called me Mickey. The beer started to weigh on
my bladder, so it seemed like the right time to head for the toilet.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">At every party I have ever been to this has happened: I go
to the toilet, wash my hands and discover that there’s only one towel hanging
up. Not a hand towel, but the towel which is very clearly used for drying off
after a shower. There’s an element of guilt to drying your hands on that towel,
but then you notice that everyone else seems to have used it, too.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">At Harry’s, the towel wasn’t looking too good. It was a
black towel, but it seemed blacker in the middle. I didn’t want to wet the book
so I used the towel anyway. My fingertips came away smeared in redness. The
coppery smell was unmistakeable. Blood.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I looked down. On a table next to the bath was a book. I
felt the volume in my jacket pocket weigh heavier as I read the title of the
one on the table:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Bored to Death: The Art of Boredom, Volume Two.</span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Forgetting my bloodied fingers, I picked it up. Sat down on
the toilet. Chapter One, it read:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">“How to alleviate boredom by committing the perfect murder.”</span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The words swam a little as I read them, but I felt compelled
to carry on.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">“Invite everyone you know to a party. Especially the ones
who have borrowed your books, DVDs and favourite Tupperware. Stock up on dark
towels for cleaning purposes.”</span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The key in the bathroom door rattled and a shadow fell
across the page.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">“Hello, Michael”, Harry whispered.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">**************************************************************************</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>This post was
written as part of a tandem blogging experiment. EIGHT other bloggers have used
the same title as a prompt, and their work will go live at the same time as
this. None of us have seen anyone else's posts yet, so each will take a unique
angle on their blogs. Take a look at their creative efforts at blogging <b>'The Art of Boredom'</b> and like, share and comment if you've enjoyed what you read!</i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Click away on the names below: </i></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://medium.com/@Kerry_Contrary" target="_blank">Kerry</a></span><a href="https://medium.com/@Kerry_Contrary" target="_blank"></a></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.jamespreston.org/" target="_blank">James</a> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.meganshead.co.za/" target="_blank">Megan</a> </span><span style="color: black;">
</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://medium.com/@ricegirl2" target="_blank">Sarah</a> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://bloggsymalone.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Dave</a></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://medium.com/@nick_frost" target="_blank">Nick</a></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 106%; margin-bottom: 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://brettfish.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Brett</a></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 106%; margin-bottom: 8pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 106%; margin-bottom: 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://cathjenkin.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Cath</a> </span></span></span><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Squidsquirtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521427577588027119noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834402995689338982.post-59353443006471933702015-04-22T05:00:00.000-07:002015-04-22T05:00:13.566-07:00Magic Words<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Brian held Hammy in both hands. Hammy was cold, unusually
still. He wasn’t always active- during the day he’d roll into the sawdust
shavings in the cage on the opposite side from where he’d leave the looped
droppings. At night his rustling was quiet enough for Brian to get
some sleep, as long as the wheel was kept oiled. But today he hadn’t emerged
for his slice of apple, Hammy was dead.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It was quite cold in Brian’s room, and he nudged Hammy’s grey
fur with his knuckle. Made the <i>psp-pssp-psp</i> noise which sometimes coaxed him
out of the toilet rolls he’d hide in. Still nothing.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It upset him. Even though his mum had told him hamsters don’t
live very long, he’d grown up with the familiar smells of the cage. Two whole
years. He’d been only seven when he’d asked her what “dead” is, and had been rather confused with her talk of golden roads and clouds and angels and something
about lovely feasts with roast beef and apple pie. He didn’t like beef. The
chewy gristle gave him the chills.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Apple pie, though, that was something he could get into. The
little family always had some leftovers after Sunday lunch, but he wasn’t
allowed to have seconds. It would be put in the fridge for tomorrow’s supper,
and he’d have to ask very nicely to get some. “What’s the magic word, Brian?”
his mum would ask. “Abracadabra!” he’d reply as part of their ritual, and they’d
all laugh.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Please. He knew the magic word was really supposed to be <i>please</i>,
but he hardly ever saw his mum smile anymore, so the laughter was welcome. Ever
since he’d gone to camp last year and his dad had moved out by the time Brian had come
home (even though he’d moved back a week later), the house had
become like his local library; whispered conversations that he couldn’t hear.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The camp had been awful. It had been his first time
away from home, and the constant noise of the other kids had seemed intimidating.
Then, on the last night, the teacher had told ghost stories. He hadn’t slept at
all. He shuddered as he remembered one in particular, <a href="http://www.scaryforkids.com/the-monkeys-paw/" target="_blank">The Monkey’s Paw</a>. How the
old couple had used the mystical paw to wish their dead son back to life. And
regretted it.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">He shuddered again. Then paused. His mouth was open in
surprise at a sudden thought.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">He didn’t have a monkey’s paw but he did have another trick.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>“Please”</i> he whispered into Hammy’s ear.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Nothing happened.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">“Please!” he called out, as if magic is made more so by
volume.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Even less happened.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Brian shrugged. He’d go back to the pet man on his next
birthday and get a tortoise. Tortoises can live a thousand years, he guessed.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">He placed Hammy back in the safety of his cage and turned to
pick up the library book he’d borrowed. It was quite a difficult one, but his
mum had said that he should read out loud to help get the hang of new words.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">“Taxidermy for beginners”, he read, and imagined himself
wearing a magician’s cape.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>This
post was written as part of a tandem blogging exercise/experiment. Five
other bloggers have used the same title as a prompt, and their work
will go live at the same time as this. None of us have seen anyone
else's posts yet, so each will take a unique angle on their blogs.
Please take a look at their creative efforts at blogging <b>'Magic Words'</b> and like, share and comment if you've enjoyed what you read, too!</i></span></span></div>
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</span></span>
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</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://mandycollinswriter.com/" target="_blank">Mandy Collins</a> </b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>
</b></span>
<br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://bloggsymalone.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Dave Luis</a><a href="https://bloggsymalone.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0066cc;"></span></a></b></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>
</b></span>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://medium.com/@nick_frost" target="_blank">Nick Frost</a> </b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>
</b></span>
<br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://brettfish.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Brett 'Fish' Anderson</a></b></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>
<a href="https://cathjenkin.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Cath Jenkin</a> </b></span><br />
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<br /></div>
Squidsquirtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521427577588027119noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834402995689338982.post-35281629090286790212015-04-15T05:00:00.000-07:002015-04-15T05:00:28.309-07:00Revelations at Dawn<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhncz24-DdxufKAo4DNoctjP9KJZwYinxhjfyiHFLzop7W_OYbLMj4XZwuZQ6Pl3Amm8YQcmTYmFG-oLniwZQqwmmHMT2nMa5-SqyzocD6NovgHy34u6SLuHBXN8aM4FmnnAkx2vngXGAA/s1600/dawn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhncz24-DdxufKAo4DNoctjP9KJZwYinxhjfyiHFLzop7W_OYbLMj4XZwuZQ6Pl3Amm8YQcmTYmFG-oLniwZQqwmmHMT2nMa5-SqyzocD6NovgHy34u6SLuHBXN8aM4FmnnAkx2vngXGAA/s1600/dawn.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">A low hoot woke him. The soldier didn’t open his eyes
straight away, but listened to the creatures in the liquorice-black of the
night, the owl and the crickets. The intensity of the sounds teased him, and,
just for a second, he thought he could hear the earthworms sliding through the
soil and the throb of his own pulse. The sounds of the countryside. Home.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">He lay awhile thinking of his mother’s cooking, smelling the
butter slipping in the pan as the breaking eggs whispered a quiet <i>ssssh</i> and
rolled into fluffy mounds. The gammon being slapped onto the block in the honey
his father had burgled from the hives just last week.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">The soldier had been thinking about food a lot lately;
daydreams that teased him with their attendant memories. He wondered what had
happened to the boy he’d once been, hiding out in the woods and making a fire
out of twigs,wrapping his two pork sausages in the square of foil he’d tucked
into his pocket along with the penknife he was never without. Roasting
them until the juices fizzed and the waiting was too much to bear.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">He’d toyed with the idea of being a chef in some grand
hotel, a sleight-of-hand genius plating creamy clouds of mashed potatoes under
peppered steaks slick with sauce. Cajoling the waiters in his whites
and, occasionally, murmuring his appreciation to the diners on the floor when
they nodded their ecstasy at him. But the war had intervened. His
kitchen dreams had faded even as the steam train burped him out at the port where
he was hauled off to another country.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Army food became his imagined foe.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">The watery chicken stews would turn his stomach; the bread chunks
were an awful imposter of the still-steaming loaves he remembered from home. He
began getting ill shortly after every meal, clutching his belly until the
spasms subsided. Each day was another front to conquer in the mess, and,
towards the end, he’d felt himself losing the inward battle.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">He’d been slightly incoherent when a platoon had found him
limping alongside a horse pulling a cart full of onions. They weren’t too sure what
to do with him until he began hurling the little papery orbs at them, railing
against the war, the war, the war. A scuffle. Dragged back to the trenches in
restraints.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Wartime is brutal. A court martial was convened in a dark
burrow. The soldier, kneeling on the duckboards that didn’t keep the muddy
pools from seeping into his blistered feet, confessed right away that he couldn’t
stand the war anymore. He’d deserted. In fact, he even laughed as he said it,
picturing the sickly sweet desserts he’d left behind along with his family. He’d
<i>desserted</i> them. The Officer in Command had no other option, then: the soldier
would have to be executed at dawn by firing squad.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> **************************</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">The owl’s hoot still echoing in his sleep-fuzzy head, he
finally opened his eyes. There was no owl, but some sap nearby weeping his
trauma into a balled-up trench coat. Sobbing his fear out in great gulps.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">But the soldier wasn’t afraid. No, in the final silence of
the night, when the air is coldest and the sun is still setting somewhere else,
he was feeling alive for the first time in months.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">As he was led towards a small clearing among trees
splintered by shelling, he realised something. The only thing he’d ever really
enjoyed in his life was a good meal. A well-executed one.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">It was a flash of revelation brighter than the abrupt bark
of the guns as the sky slipped into blues again, and he felt nothing other than
the comforting warmth of his own blood oozing like syrup over his chest.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>This post was written as part of a tandem blogging exercise/experiment. Five other bloggers have used the same title as a prompt, and their work will go live at the same time as this. None of us have seen anyone else's posts yet, so each will take a unique angle on their blogs. Please take a look at their creative efforts at blogging 'Revelations at Dawn' and like, share and comment if you've enjoyed what you read, too!</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div>
<a href="http://mandycollinswriter.com/" target="_blank">Mandy Collins</a> </div>
<div>
<a href="https://bloggsymalone.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Dave Luis</a><a href="https://bloggsymalone.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0066cc;"></span></a> </div>
<div>
<a href="https://medium.com/@nick_frost" target="_blank">Nick Frost</a> </div>
<div>
<a href="https://brettfish.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Brett 'Fish' Anderson</a> </div>
<div>
<a href="https://cathjenkin.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Cath Jenkin</a> <a href="https://cathjenkin.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0066cc;"></span></a> </div>
<br />Squidsquirtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521427577588027119noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834402995689338982.post-8528012240258674512014-07-06T10:07:00.000-07:002014-07-06T10:27:45.707-07:00Art<div class="MsoNormal">
<h3 style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This is a blogger challenge. We were given the word "art" as a starting point...</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEPuLkk05rml2xTxhc4St1o4J7eL3b0RBLCb7LdF3_CfiVT38F0KKp_lmYMgk7KexGiXiV-dnuzEzAcPKoKi_sUlYzPjUFNB-HEUXMUIyii2flf80w2oyYynGGwQd9biyEMus6M2Fh2xU/s1600/rabbit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEPuLkk05rml2xTxhc4St1o4J7eL3b0RBLCb7LdF3_CfiVT38F0KKp_lmYMgk7KexGiXiV-dnuzEzAcPKoKi_sUlYzPjUFNB-HEUXMUIyii2flf80w2oyYynGGwQd9biyEMus6M2Fh2xU/s1600/rabbit.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In around 1978 I remember
a peculiar crisis. The Australian government had opted for a highly
controversial option for the eradication of the rabbit population,
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myxomatosis">myxomatosis</a>.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Was essentially a virus
which wiped out the feral rabbit population.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri;">To a young child, as I
was, killing rabbits was akin to putting a bullet to the Easter bunny. Then Richard Adams penned his blistering
exposure of the project. It didn’t seem that way- it was packaged as a novel
about our small large-eared friends- Watership Down.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Being susceptible to
emotive topics, I got attached. Pictured rabbits gasping their last in meadows.
Their little flag tails twitching in the balmy summer sunsets. It didn’t help
when Art Garfunkel released his song, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myxomatosis">Bright Eyes</a></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myxomatosis"><br /></a>. The best song about rabbit
massacre ever written, it became the unlikely hit of that year.<br /><span style="font-family: Calibri;">And, for me, you say the
word “art” and I can see Art Garfunkel with his wavy hair while my dad drives
our car down a leafy lane in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Cornwall</st1:city></st1:place>.
We were on holiday, heads full of ice creams and beach sand. We even skimmed
past a car as it ran over a rabbit. As the furry creature cartwheeled into the
bushes, I could hear Art harmonizing with himself.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri;">How mad. These snapshots
of life that stay with you.</span></h3>
</div>
<o:p></o:p>Squidsquirtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521427577588027119noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834402995689338982.post-43567396284760923492014-05-16T07:15:00.000-07:002015-11-29T00:08:03.139-08:00For Bee<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrGL_4BnNoruaV7rSM_OjGZQSNdfo6sPtYUtee-TGyhrPpY9dFNvdseuCBsJK_QpmxTZoz7EvranW8Y09IpDq-TXpeL7PAXsQ99xkVmLdmOUzD2nicuRUqo3Wfa-LpfsWqgkvgx06WT1k/s1600/beeeeeee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrGL_4BnNoruaV7rSM_OjGZQSNdfo6sPtYUtee-TGyhrPpY9dFNvdseuCBsJK_QpmxTZoz7EvranW8Y09IpDq-TXpeL7PAXsQ99xkVmLdmOUzD2nicuRUqo3Wfa-LpfsWqgkvgx06WT1k/s1600/beeeeeee.jpg" width="215" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">We
used to tease Belinda and call her “all-about-me-Bee”, so she would have loved to
see everyone here in her honour.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I
met her at a nightclub we were working at when I was 18, and was slightly in
awe of her, this enigmatic woman, with her dramatic eyeliner and vintage lace
dresses. I was married to her sister and part of her family for so long that
her family became my family. She was the catalyst for many gatherings,
welcoming many people into her home for laughter and wine.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">From
Bee’s blog post about me:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“So, this has been going on for about
4 weeks now and to my great delight I discover that he’s like the brother I
always wished I had. While I was growing up I yearned for a brother. Now in
hindsight I am SO GLAD I didn’t have one. Sorry Scott no offence meant but you
can be rather bitter and twisted at times.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">She
was like a sister to me. A family member capable of making you feel loved even
when insulting you.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My
frank and hilarious friend. She’s one of those rare people who spoke EXACTLY
what was on her mind. It did have its downside… Ill-fated Spur trips where some
hapless waiter would be sent back to the kitchen a dozen times to cater to
Princess Bee’s demands. She expected service people to serve. Durrr!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But
she was also a dreamer… someone who dreamed of being an artist… wait… a writer…
wait… a OOH LOOK, A BUTTERFLY! (I think she coined that phrase).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And
she WAS an artist and a writer. She loved to sketch <o:p></o:p></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; text-align: center;">and took pains at expressing her feelings in her writing. If a writer
is someone whose writing affects the lives of others, then Bee was definitely
one. I have met some of our online friends who speak with adoration for Bee and
how she impacted their lives with her loving irreverence.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here’s
one incident that a blogger friend never forgot, from Cath Jenkin in Durban:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Perhaps my best memory of Bee,
was one night, at some godawful hour, when I was sitting outside with friends
under the stars and she texted to say "the stars are beautiful,
right?" </span></i><i><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><br /></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">And I said "how did you
know?"</span></i><i><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><br /></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">And she replied: "Same
stars, idiot".</span></i><i><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><br /></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">She always just knew.</span></i><i><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><br /></span></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A
read through some of her blog posts reveals something of her heart: She was a
professional wrestler, wrestling with herself. Extreme giddy happiness, dark
moments of soul searching. Spiritual but seeking. Restless but hopeful that
everything would turn out for the best. She didn’t throw in the towel when things
got tough, she threw it down and sunbathed on it, because her aim in life was
to be happy, dammit!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Then
Princess Bee had to share her tiara with another. SUDDENLY, she became Queen
Bee, and Rhiannon her princess daughter. She became All about Rhi-Bee. This
wonderful tiny family was filled with magic. There were fairy wings, tiaras and
unicorns, and Bee transformed into one of the most remarkable moms I have
known, and I am so proud of the amazing girl Rhiannon has become. She was a
beloved aunt to my kids who have said they'll never forget her awesome Sunday roasts and the way she put Christmas celebrations together.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It
would be unfair to pin Bee to any one life stage. All of her experiences made
her who she was and you all contributed to her in one way or another. She
invited us into her crazy world and gave us reason to stick around. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Belinda,
we’ll miss your Fleetwood Mac, you, doing the dance of joy, French toast on Sunday
mornings, raised eyebrows and raised glasses, your cackling laughter and your
tralalas.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br />
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<span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We’ll
miss them, but we won’t forget them.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Squidsquirtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521427577588027119noreply@blogger.com0