Randomness

Hands of Time

  It wasn’t often he had time on his hands. Normally, there was nothing but a shortage. Yet, somehow, on this rainy windy morning, he had time; time to pick and chose, time to use or waste, time to wonder. He studied the clock above the work bench hanging among the menagerie of tools. The hands were long black sticks with arrows on the ends pointing to the numbers on the face. It was an old fashioned clock, the old man thought. A clock much like himself, he smiled. Reaching for the tube of Arnica Lotion, he unscrewed the cap and squeezed a dime size amount into his palm. Ivan slowly massaged in the therapeutic lotion, concentrating on his swollen fingers. His thoughts were on the many half finished projects he’d accumulated, much like all the half finished dreams stored in his mind. Never a shortage of either, it seemed. The hands of Ivan’s had been chubby and dimply when he was a baby busily pushing and pulling and exploring with all the time in the world on his hands. His teenage hands banged on a typewriter, gripped a baseball bat, and grabbed for food every chance they got. They…

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Randomness

Wake Up!

Every year, the arrival of spring brings a new reminder of how blessed we are to live in the Pacific Northwest. Unfortunately, it often takes an out-of-towner to bring the stunning beauty surrounding us each and every day of our lives, to our attention once again. Do we take it for granted? The mountains; towering and snow-capped, Puget Sound and Lake Washington and all the other spectacular bodies of water encroaching our land, land so lush and green and rich. Do we take it for granted? The fresh seafood; crab and salmon and oysters growing wild in our backyards. The farm fresh deliveries of lettuces, squash, beets, onions, garlic, and kale to name only a few. Do we take it for granted? I know there are times when I do. And then comes along the out-of-towners. Thank goodness for them. They are amazed by the beauty regardless of rain or shine, stunned by the gifts Mother Nature has bestowed upon us as though we must be her favorites. I think we are! As nature yawns and stretches and shakes off the dormancy of winter, so should we. Grab a rain jacket and dirty sneakers and head outside to see what’s…

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Randomness

The Invisible Man

He really hadn’t meant to burn the place down. It was a prank gone awry, something to get her attention. Yet, the fire raged, the sirens screamed, and the police lights flashed. He sighed; why was it that nothing ever turned out the way he thought it would? Maybe next time he should try a different approach. If she survived, he’d simply ask her out. The End

Randomness

The Scream That Wouldn’t – Pt 2

I knew the highway was no more than about a quarter of a mile farther and things would be better there. I was proud of myself for getting this far and sighed deeply as we snuck cautiously around the bend in the road and then slammed the brakes, slammed them so hard I thought my foot would go through the floor. Thank God we were going so slowly or we never would have stopped. As it was, Peggy Sue and I came to a halt about four feet from a man standing smack in the middle of the road. He was visibly relieved to see us stop and also aware that I was too stunned to do anything. He approached the driver’s side and made the roll down your window motion. I had my hand over my chest making sure my heart didn’t jump out yet managed to lower my window. “I’m so sorry,” he said. “Thank goodness you were going so slow. I couldn’t get out of the road, it’s solid ice.” That’s when I noticed a Suburban laying sideways in the ditch. “Is that yours?” I pointed to the vehicle. “Yes, unfortunately it is. I’ve called but no…

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Randomness

The Scream That Wouldn’t

The winter of 2007-2008 is noteworthy for two reasons: one being a memorable time for the community around Rathdrum, Idaho, and one for me personally. First of all, we had a record one hundred ninety inches of killing-me-softly snow; and second, it was the first time in my entire life I’ve completely lost my voice. I don’t mean the “laryngitis” kind of lost it, I mean a desperate to scream my lungs out yet not managing so much as a squeak, kind of lost it. As you will see, both these things happened in the same day. It all started with that snow storm, the absolute dumping of eighteen inches of white powder on the cabin, on the cars, on the roads. Most importantly – the roads. This was in addition to the twenty seven inches we were already dealing with. My husband, Zeke, had just shoveled and cleared the way for me four hours prior, making it quite manageable if only I would have left. But then it started up with a vengeance. I kept cleaning and packing things up, believing it would let up in a minute and then I’d head out the door. A minute turned into…

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