Tag: just goofing around

The Secret

“Magic,” she said.

She saw his eyes narrow and his facial lines smooth out, a typical reaction (although some laughed in scorn (or disgust) and others often swore and walked out on her). This reaction was considered the polite one, but he’d probably already decided that she was a nut, and that he would leave.

But he was still there now.

“Magic,” he said in a bland, heavy voice.

“Yes, magic. Magic is everywhere, and in everything, but magic takes different forms. Magic is universal, but the magic you have and how you use it can be different.”

Ah, a rarity. Pupils widening, his eyes opened a millimeter. The light in his brown irises changed.

“Consider water,” she said. “Broadly, water is the same everywhere, a transparent and tasteless liquid chemical substance with the formula H20. But water varies, doesn’t it? Water can become ice. Water becomes snow, hail, and steam. Sea water, tap water, and river water are different, aren’t they?

“Our magic is akin to water in this way, it has different forms and qualities. You have to find your magic in you and learn how to use it.

“That’s the secret to success.”

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Finding Himself

He’d been in darkness for so long, he’d last track of who he was. Questions plagued him about the value he put on himself, his purpose and goals, maddening lack of motivation, and most of all, who he was . He was so lonely, never seeing others. Sometimes he heard them and yearned to be part of the conversations and celebrations, but he never seemed to have the courage or strength needed to make that change.

Then, one day, the Earth moved in a starling way. He felt a hand on him. It drew him into a light.

“What’s that?” someone said as he blinked against the unaccustomed brightness.

“A wrinkled old ten dollar bill,” someone else said. “Woo hoo, I’m rich. Beer’s on me.”

 

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Final Words 2

The dyin’ man

in the dyin’ land

said with his dyin’ breath,

“Life is a like a buffet.

You can get in line,

and shuffle by,

or decide where you start and end.

“So, if you don’t mind,

I just died,

but this is my beginning,

not my end.”

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Final Words

The dyin’ man

in the dyin’ land

said with his dyin’ breath,

“Life is not a fantasy,

it’s always been a test.

“I’ve done some harm,

caused some alarm,

and failed more than one person.

“I had some dreams,

and made some schemes,

but never found my purpose.

“But now I lay me down to sleep, 

I’m about to close my eyes,

say what you will ’bout me,

I don’t care, I died.”

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The Landing

Through dint of concentration, manifested by slow walking and constantly watching the cup, I can usually carry a cup of coffee across the room and not lose any.

It’s on the glide path to the table that I usually lose some. Yes, sometimes I miss the landing.

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Priusville

It was like Priusville stopped at the traffic light today. Between the intersecting roads, almost every generation, model, and variation of Prius was represented, that I could see. I counted twelve, included a dark green first gen Prius that a local real estate agent uses.

Sprinkled among the Priuses in our little town were also a dark blue Tesla Model S and a silver Tesla 3, a Chevy Volt, and, directly beside me to my right, a bright blue Kia Soul plug in.

My Mazda CX-5 felt like a dinosaur.

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The Thinking

The cat had gone out during the night, but it was necessary to lock the petdoor behind him because the raccoons had figured out how to use it, and weren’t shy about coming into the house.

Now that the sun was shining, it was time to eat, and the big black cat wanted in. Removing the petdoor, the man lifted the flap and said, “Come on in, big guy.”

Responding with a light meow, the big cat put its front paws in and luxuriated in an extended stretch. As he ended the stretch, he began moving through the opening and into the house when he stopped. Staring, he emitted a disapproving meow.

The man looked back. Another of his cats was a few feet back in the room. The two had never gotten along. While they no longer fought with tooth and claw, they avoided one another’s presence and vocalized their dislike. In short, the black cat was not coming into the house with that other one in the room.

“Fine,” the man said with exasperation, releasing the pet door flap. “You can come in on your own, you stupid cat.”

It was so maddening that the two cats behaved these way, even after three years of living in the same house. He didn’t know what he was going to do about it.

In the meantime, he’d go check the mail. Glancing out the window, he saw a neighbor heading for the mail boxes.

He groaned. Peggy. He could not stand her. Her political views were…well, they were seriously crazy. Checking the time, he decided, he’d just sit down and wait until the other one went away.

Sighing as he sat, he thought, the world sure had become a complicated place.

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Unknown

Looking at the clock, he found that it was 2:15, so it was appropriate to go to bed. The cats, though, thought that since he was up, it was appropriate that they be fed. Being a soft touch, he headed toward the utility room to feed them.

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang. The sound froze him while injecting a thrill of fear through his muscles. It sounded like someone was beating on the house’s side. Glancing toward a cat, he saw that it wasn’t bothered, but continued its quick trot toward him. As he opened the closet and drew out a flashlight, he checked the second cat. It also seemed unconcerned about anything but getting fed.

Had he imagined it? No, it seemed real, he argued with himself, trying to think, what could he use as a weapon? He didn’t know where his baseball bat was. Any hammers he had were in the garage, which is where he thought the noise may have originated. As these thoughts raced through his mind, he thought, maybe his wife had beat on the wall to get his attention. Maybe something had happened to her. 

He was moving toward the master bedroom as he processed those thoughts. Opening the bedroom door, he found his wife and another cat sound asleep. So it wasn’t them…

Returning to the front of the house, he turned on the outside lights and the flashlight, opened the front door, and stepped out. I should have grabbed the phone, he thought, looking around.

It was a gusty night, full of shivering tree noises and fluttering, dancing leaves. Even with the outside lights on, the night seemed as dark as a coal mine, sparking new fear and anxiety in his stomach. But, this had to be done. Flashlight lighting the way, he walked around the house, peering into the bushes’ shadows for someone ready to jump out.

Finding everything in order in the front, he went to the garage and confirmed, no one was in there, and the door was locked. Inspections of the back and side yards found no one there. Everything was in order.

He went back into the house, fed the cats, and turned off the lights. It could have been imagination. It could have been teenagers pranking him. It may have been something that happened at a neighbor’s house.

He would probably never know.

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Floof

He’s a smile in fur,

a presence in purr,

a weight on your legs,

and a sweetie who begs.

He’s a whiskered shadow,

on your pillow,

and a paw beside you,

trying to guide you.

He’s a mighty hunter,

scared of thunder,

quick as light,

and quiet as night.

He’s a song and a feeling,

a world and a being,

and a time and place,

touching your face.

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