Waterfalls

Suppose you and your family are rafting down an unexplored river.

Most of your attention is on steering the raft away from the rocks and keeping it off the banks so that it will not get damaged or stranded.

Several miles downstream unknown to you lies a huge waterfall that will fling you and your family on the rocks below.

It is easy to miss the significance of certain signals that are coming to you.

The Hundredth Monkey
by Ken Keyes, Jr.

And this just after three people are killed going over Vernal Falls in Yosemite. The man who was interviewed on the radio said one of the men looked at him knowing that in five seconds he was going to day. The man said he was sad but he was angry too, because everyone who witnessed it would be permanently harmed.

This past week a second body was found floating near the base of the falls.

On the Farm

Chickens need mowin’ and somebody needs to milk the pigs and feed the Marigolds. It’s passed noon for goodness sake!

Our 40th Anniversary

In the late afternoon, after browsing the shops on Hiquera St, after saying good-bye to our daughter, we sat across from each other at a table in a restaurant that opened on to the street. The waiter took the wine glasses and our order. She had salmon. I had pork. We didn’t talk much.

Why It's So Tough

The Old Man

Jesus, I walk in the door and the old man’s sitting alone in his chair with his eyes closed and tears running down his face. Nothing has happened. The room is quiet. A breeze comes through an open door. The cat walks in. A clock ticks, That's all. I know what he’s thinking. He’s thinking about all the mistakes, the missed chances, and the lost friends. He’s mourning the things that were but aren’t anymore and the things that could have been but never were.

Seis meses, no tequila, no cervazas

I sent an email to Jose saying I was glad to hear that things were looking up. The previous email from him sounded gruesome, but now Marcelo was recovering, Jose, himself, was healthy, and his crops were in. He planted corn, beans, and pumpkins. I asked him how are Lorena and the baby were doing.

Things went well in Washington. Morgan and I reconciled immediately at the airport. He graduated, and we paid our last tuition bill, for him anyway. I didn’t see Kevin Bacon, but Matt said he did. We went to Seattle. We hung out in Olympia, and it didn't rain the whole time we were there. We all had a good time at various points on the trip.

If the rain continues, Jose expects to return to California as soon as his crops are established. I've been working on the sidewalk beside the house and experimenting with grout colors. I want to have the grouting done on the patio soon. I still have the walkways in the front yard that need to be finished. I need to finish the decks in the backyard, and I need to trim trees. I don't know how much I can afford to do.

Seis meses, no tequila, no cervaza!

We were in the produce department of Windmill Market carrying green plastic baskets shopping for fruits and vegetables. There were nectarines and melons, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash. I was picking out peppers. I asked Morgan to get some squash. There were three kinds: zucchini, yellow crookneck, and green summer.

He said he didn’t know what kind to get.

I told him to just get an assortment.

He wandered around the produce bins picking out onions and avocados. I wondered if he would actually ignore me. I put a bag of yellow, red, and green peppers in my basket and walked over to the dairy case. His basket was resting on the scale between the onions and tomatoes. I thought I should tell him to take it off because the scale wasn’t made to hold that much weight and because it was disrespectful to other customers, but I didn’t. I walked back to the produce section without buying any cheese. Morgan was looking over tomatillos and avocados

Did you get the squash, Morgan? I asked. I knew he hadn’t.

I don’t like squash, he said.

Well, just because you don’t like it doesn’t mean you can’t touch it, I said as I got a plastic bag and walked over to the squash sitting in the vegetable case.

I am crippled by anxiety. Karl was crippled by anxiety. He found Jesus. Caitlin said she wondered if it wasn’t easier to be a Christian, but later said that she and Hyland were talking about becoming Buddhist.

There is no Santa Claus. Caitlin was saying that the image of the Buddha as a fat man was wrong. That representation was actually a fourth century Buddhist priest who went around China doing good deeds and giving gifts to the poor. Santa Claus nailed to a cross. The Buddha was thin.

Outside one of the neighbors is using a leaf blower. It’s Sunday morning for Christ’s sake.

A three horsepower pencil sharpener. It was large enough to put a point on a stick.

Not a Singularity, the Singularity.