300 Words: Thoughts of a pretired French Teacher

MK and I were just working on signing up for our Moderna Booster shots. She must have gone on the Walgreen’s site and saw that they had opened up the appointments. I have one for Halloween, in the morning. She has one the day before. All of a sudden, I was checking to locate my ‘card’ of vaccination and checking for other immunizations that Walgreens was asking for.

Yes, an almost freeze. The walk was cold but wearing an Under Armour sweatshirt, sweatpants, and a cashmere tuque (beanie – I decided to use the Louise Penny, Québecois vocabulary). I think my Patagonia jacket might well be put into service for my next walk.

I was lazy today and decided to forego my usual routine of calisthenics and flexibility exercises. I have been pretty religious about doing them and thought that maybe, just maybe, I needed a day off.

I checked the skunk trap and saw nothing. I did see a photo of a skunk from a couple of blocks over from us. It is hard to keep a good skunk down. Is there such a thing as a good skunk? I am wondering since my thoughts on possums has changed, is it time to see what good skunks do?

I did find out another reason to dislike mice. I was talking to an ESL participant and found out that he had trapped a mouse and thought it was so cute, that he picked it up. Later, he ended up getting a tick bite, although he didn’t know it at the time. He soon became sick with Lyme’s disease and it took a while to diagnosis since he neglected to tell his doctor of his target-like wound on his back, not putting the two things together.

I will most probably continue with winterizing. Each day a little more movement. Today, I will cover the main umbrella, the other two having already come down. The metal fire pit is in place and I still have the chairs out. 

Yesterday, we had four family dogs here for dog play.

I feel as if it is the first real day of fall.

I walked Stewart and was wavering between completing my three miles and walking back early and somehow managed to overcome my negative thoughts about the walk and completed the three.

The weather was in play here. It was in the fifties and windy. The leaves were blowing and I could see piles here and there and kept wondering if all of the leaves would be blown away. The sky was gray and in spite of the AccuWeather report I had just read, I could not help but think that it was going to rain. A few days ago, the same temperature would have felt warmer, I cannot explain it. I also note that each day, it is a little darker than the previous as I set out to walk.

The skunk continues to be at bay, I am wondering where he, she, or they is, maybe taking a breather before stoking up with more food. I am continuing to keep my trap all ready to go and it is full of tuna.

My winterizing is moving along, each day moving ahead. The next thing to go will be the umbrellas, only one remaining outside as somehow I cannot pull it out of the stand. It still remains debatable as to whether or not I maintain the chairs outside and covered or put them in the garage. My gut reaction is to put them in the garage and use that space for the gas grill. That remains a possibility. For whatever reason, I don’t want to make the decision.

As I write this in the house, I hear the gas power tools that are being used by local landscapers. I find them terribly annoying. It is as if there is never a time when we are not hearing them

I need to take a shower, shave my head, and Zoom.

This book provides a reading of an absurd time in our lives.

I had visions of being wise.

I had thought that with the passage of time and after the fulfillment of many life experiences, that I would be wise.

I thought that life would be simpler, not more complicated, and that the answers would come more easily to me. 

That is not the case.

I look around myself and I realize that it is foolish to think that one can live a life and have it somewhat figured out. That is not possible. The equation of people in the mix means that there is never going to be an answer and that each time you attempt to solve an issue, that it is truly like walking a tightrope, like a crapshoot, where there is a fifty-fifty chance of it going either way. Our choice of solution may or may not work like a charm.

I realize that my education is, perhaps, the best thing ever that happened to me. I realize that my choosing French was providential. I have found that my study of French literature and delving into the world of absurd theatre and existentialism, and finding meaning within the chaos of events, was more helpful than anything else in my life experiences.

I went through life for so many years enjoying my experiences and although not as rich as I might have liked to be, I am wealthy in family and experiences and wondering when the shoe was going to drop.

Life is not easy and there is no way to know, in advance, as to where the path is going to lead. There is no way to know anything about it. There is no way to know what is coming internationally, nationally, regionally, or personally. Things will come across the path that will perhaps be absolutely nothing but routine, things might come across the path that will defy common knowledge, common sense, and even logic. 

There is no way to know what is coming and there is no manual provided to deal with the insanity that life is capable of dealing. Who would have ever imagined a virus (well, a few authors did) that would decimate our population and that of the world, and that when a vaccine was available that people would refuse to take it? 

I am gobsmacked. I am sad that I am not wise. I am sad that people behave the way they do. I am sad about the legacy that my generation is leaving.

Sometimes, things just get to you.

Sometimes, things just add up to a point and make you angry.

Anger is not always a good thing, it can eat away at you, paralyze you, and make you totally powerless. Nonetheless, it affects all of us at various times and usally it creeps up on you or pretty much hits you over the head with a sort of cast iron frying pan situation.

There are things we can talk about and then there are things that, for whatever reason, we cannot. This is one of those situations that is the latter.

I am going to have to just deal with it, move on, and let go. I am good with that. I am not good, however, with inequities, and with unfairness, and with dealing with thsoe whose narcisstic tendencies have to overrule anyone to be dealt with.

I need to focus on the day, a beautiful, cool sunny day. Okay, so I didn’t catch the skunk with my new Havahart trap, he apparently didn’t even access it, but at least I have it set up and ready to go.

I have some simple things in mind for the day once my Zooms are under control. The outdoor cupboard needs some attention and the dishes need to be wrapped up in their zippered containers to keep out the dirt that lingers. The cupboard is totally enclosed, but somehow dirt and grime does manage to invade and get in the oddest places. I plan to vacuum it out and see if I can remove all of the minute locust leaves that invade the minute you open it up. Some of the things will not be wrapped up since we will still be using them.

Luckily, we have a nice, new storage trunk where we store the main chairs’ cushions.Those are among the last things I will be storing, although I could ostensibly store them and instead depend on our smaller chairs. With the chairs, I can wait, as they can be among the last things to go in the garage. Last year, I stored them outside. I am not sure where I stand on their storage today.

Okay, anger in check, time to move on.