Greetings kind readers:
“Until we find each other, we are alone”……………………………………………………………………………..Adrienne Rich
“ It’s not Vermont anymore, Dorothy”………………………………………………………………………………..Ferlin’ Norris
“ You call that a lining…..”…………………………………………………………………………………………………..Punch line to old Yiddish folk story (you’ll have to ask me to tell the story)
Where are the mountains? Where is my POND? Where is the Jewish Fish Monger?
It’s a long way, from a Zen perspective, from the mountains of Vermont to the amber fields of grain of the flatlands…but we have once again done our body/mind shifting thing. We picked up Jenn’s car last Sunday, and it was fully healed by Steve, the snowboard maestro- machine fixing- mountain-Zen mechanic. Though it set us back more than we’d like (for a car that was supposed to turn into the beloved pickup), it ran fine and our trip home was relatively uneventful. We packed the car in the snow on Tuesday (give me a break), with little Lucy ensconced in her perch in the back and ready to go 24 hours ahead of time….I thought she was going to spend the last night in the car, rather than run the risk of being left behind. Then we headed into town to take the overloaded Subaru on a test run and make some last goodbyes…it was shocking how many tears were shed all the way around at our leaving the homestead. After the requisite free lunch at Java-Baba, a mandatory Jenn trip to the laundromat to have all the bedding tidy and ready for when we come back in the spring….and last minute Stu jaunt to the Okemo fitness palace (one last hot tub, please) we arrived home to find Lucy had gone berserk with her anxiety that we had left her behind and taken off in the loaded car…..ripping most of the shit in my work book bag to shreds –including a whole bag of airline snacks of various persuasions, pencils, pens and a mini-calculator…I bet that was yummy. We reluctantly left her again to take the Last Supper with the JFM at East.. and then home to sleep one last night and await the plumbing crew…..who showed up at the crack of dawn and got us on our way earlier than usual.
Sunny day, beautiful late –Fall drive through the NY mountains and a night crammed into the hotel suite in Erie with the five of us sharing the queen bed. And….then… the fun started. Arrived home to water in the basement (faltering sump pump), no stove or oven and internet and phone problems…only made worse by the how- much -can –you- hate –one- company Time Warner tech guy coming out and screwing everything up-so that when he left we basically had no internet or phone service. Jenn had to talk me down from heading up to Waldo to the shotgun store to get my weapon of mass Cable company destruction.
But after two days of nonstop house fucking, we had everything working again and spent a full 32 degree day outside in the yard dealing with stuff people our age should have flunkies to deal with. By Saturday night we were essentially Zombies (the good kind) and went in search of Indian food, which left us exhausted and falling into bed by the time we came home…the Big City life is much more demanding than the mountains, apparently.
Sunday , we woke, wept –hit the chore list again, and then headed to the “Y” for Sunday service of the agnostic variety. After trying to get everything in order to be able to get there when they opened, Stu found himself with no gym shorts or bathing suit (we switched cars to give the old Jeep a little love)…but refusing to go back home, hit the lost and found and came away with a VERY young mans’ Speedo to work out in. Fortunately , my tee shirt was quite long which reduced the embarrassment quotient for Jenn. I suggested she take a photo, but she felt it better left to the imagination…so there you go.
Jenn has now done 28 loads of laundry and re-bedded the entire house and has reorganized everything in a wonderful way…so much so that I cannot find my underwear or skin cream…but all is good. I had dinner with my lovely Tessa last night at our Fave…The Cracker Barrel by the interstate-filled with Christmas shoppers at the checkout (who really goes there and buys shit? ) and then I left this morning for multi-city trip to Houston and Toledo, which involved a three hour drive to Detroit…don’t ask…but it was wonderfully reminiscent of driving to Hartford to catch a flight.
So- I think that is it…and may be for a while….still undecided about continuing the Blogging from the Midwest…..but feel free to chime in on that (assuming you’ve actually read this far down). As you can see, the narrative is not quite the same…but…who knows.
BGTEOALOARN….figure that one out all you master texters….
Love, Stu
