Tempered glass bears the brunt of
wild weather and unbearably hot sun
until the weather is wilder than wild……
…..And this seems to be going nowhere
so I’ll stop…..for now.
“Show up, show up, show up, and after a while the Muse shows up, too.”
~ Isabel Allende
Carol just kept getting ready for class. There was nothing in the moment that she could do about that incident. There was no communication and absolutely no respect. Social mores - merely a philosophical idea. She straightened in her seat, opened her laptop and prepared to hear more from her professor. Carol decided to go to her professor after class to discuss that unsettling episode.
“Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past,
threatens the future, and renders the present inaccessible.”
~ Maya Angelou
**This story inspired by an actual event.
Entertaining them was a stressful situation. Well, not them, but her. You know ~ the one that feeds me. I know what happened. I did keep quiet about it ~ very quiet ~ she had changed my litter without telling me. No warning! Cats do not like that - especially this cat. So I just laid about until I was quite unwell. Back and forth to some sort of strange places. Poked and prodded. Got lots of petting and respect of course. Entertaining these humans was not stressful at all.
All is well again. I have a new food that’s quite delicious. And I’m more handsome than ever! My coat has become ever so gorgeous.
I will try to avoid that nasty situation again ~ it was far too stressful.
“Cats are a mysterious kind of folk.”
~ Sir Walter Scott
Who’s the Boss?
Phillip was fascinated by his apprenticeship. He was about to enter a completely new environment. Meeting the Estate residents and staff was a good start. He didn’t get any negative vibes from anyone, however Mr. Digby didn’t seem to control anything but the books he maintained. James. He was to call him James. He must remember that. Control. Phillip wondered who really ran the show that was the Beaufort Estate. It seemed that control was really in the hands of Cook and Martha, James’ wife. There was Samuel, but he was seldom in the house and then it was pretty casual. He did bring in produce for Cook from the garden. They seemed to discuss what was needed and who should take care of it. But then, they’d all been working together for many years. Were they just like his mother and sisters in the kitchen? Just knowing what to do next and who was best to do it. Phillip was nervous. How would he fit in? He supposed James was his go to person for questions, but it wouldn’t surprise him if he was sent to one of the other staff for answers. Mrs. Beaufort - or was it Mrs. Crawford - should be the boss, but he couldn’t tell.
Then there was this Giles person, the estate chauffeur, someone he hadn’t met. He didn’t know why this small group of people needed a chauffeur, but he was sure he’d find out. He knew that Giles would be part of today’s lesson. Apparently, Mrs. Crawford and James had decided a luncheon would be an easy start for Phillip. Giles would be picking up some of the guests, others would be coming in their own vehicles. Would he be parking attendant too? He was getting a headache.
~~~~~
When James had approached Emelina about a luncheon, she was more than happy to help. As a matter of fact she was glad. She wanted to have her dining room filled with people again. Laughing, talking but didn’t want an evening gathering to start with. Besides Dez, Matt and Jeremy, she had two others in mind. A small party of six would be a perfect number for a luncheon. Jeremy would bring one of the doctors and she would invite one of her friends from a charity she worked on. Giles would pick up Matt and Dez in the Estate car. She was excited! Talking to Cook about a light summer menu was just like the old days, except she really wanted to participate. In the old days, she didn’t discuss. She told Cook what to do, although Cook could work her around to what was realistic. The same thing happened with Martha. Now, she would decide what she wanted, make a plan and then discuss with them what worked. Although she signed the paycheques, she sometimes didn’t feel like a boss. They just all worked together. How would this new fellow fit in? He was quite a bit younger than everyone. If Brigitte were still here…..with that thought she relaxed. Brigitte did a wonderful job.
~~~~~
His mother called to Phillip. “Breakfast’s on the table. Phillip you’d better stop worrying and come down to eat. He looked in the mirror. Straightened his tie, put his best dress jacket on, smoothed his hair, took a deep breath and said. “You can do this Phillip.” He'd stick close to James and follow his lead.
“People ask the difference between a leader and a boss.
The leader leads, and the boss drives.”
~ Theodore Roosevelt
Saturdays come and go every seven days, filled with errands, chores and whatever else I feel like doing. Every now and then, I pass up on all the above and they get pushed into whatever corners of time they fit. Housework has long been just a chore and a bore. Since getting settled in my home, it often still is a chore. Now it comes with a feeling of ownership. Respect and responsibility, design and redecorate. Place things just so, and for those things that no longer serve me, find them a new home. Even if it’s the garbage, but preferably given to someone else. On Saturdays, I engage with my home, caring for my home, to give me a safe place to live, to write and to develop retirement in safety.
“Respect your efforts, respect yourself. Self-respect leads to self-discipline.
When you have both firmly under your belt, that’s real power.”
~ Clint Eastwood
Eventide is when the air cools, the highway traffic thins and days end approaches. Nostalgia sat on Eddie’s shoulders like his worn denim jacket. May had cut one up years ago for patches and rags. Always the frugal one she had saved their behinds more than once. He missed her in a way he did not know could happen. They had talked many times about retirement and their own mortality but it was ever only an idea. When retirement came around, he still had the ranch and she had her life set up outside of the ranch. Oh, she tried to get him involved in some of it, but he was happy tending his cows. They hadn’t any children and he did hire a couple to help him. Early on they were not really necessary. He was just lonely. With each passing year, he found he was unable to keep up with the hard work of the ranch. Andy picked up the slack and his wife, MaryLou, kept his house, cleaned out his refrigerator and they became his family. Their children were like grandchildren and even called him Poppy. When May was alive she would have been a wonderful grandmother baking them cookies, teaching them how to sew, playing hide and seek with them. Thinking of it all made him smile. One tear tipped onto his grizzled cheek and he chuckled.
Eddie could feel his own mortality in his bones every time he had to straighten his bended knees. “Come on, old man. Get yourself moving. You’ve got a new foal coming and the mare needs help. Here comes Joey - my young assistant. Wants to be a vet one day. Guess I’d better keep on giving him that practical experience he always talks about.” Eddie slipped on his patched denim jacket and, hat on his head, he edged slowly down the porch steps. “Hold up there, Joey. You’ll knock me over and you’ll have to birth that foal yourself!”
“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”
~ Andy Warhol
Awakened
Roving through a meadow full of grasses and daisies, I stopped, looked and listened. Walking deeper into the meadow, a lake appeared. “It’s a jewel! Like the awesome pendant Ricky gave me last night.” Red-winged blackbirds called to each other. Long legged waterbirds stalked the mud at waters edge. Soft winds rustled thick green bullrushes protecting deep water life. It was early spring before bulky brown seed heads appeared. “Cattails, I think.”
School had taught Shandra about the environment, but a city girl, she had really never experienced anything like this. She’d been to the beach, collected pretty pebbles and walked barefoot on the sand. But that was just fun. Their assignment for their weekend was to not just go to the beach, but walk out in the meadow behind the school. The land that hadn’t been absorbed into the city yet. She took a deep breath of the humid, cool air. It was different? Is it the wet mud smell? Different than wet beach sand. Shandra hugged herself and rubbed her bare arms. “Will the city really destroy all this?” At the beach, she and her friends played volleyball, laughed and loved the sun and water. Here in this meadow she felt like she had intruded, but that she belonged.
“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.”
~ Albert Einstein
