Trainwreck Lives, Recurring Madness
Jun. 6th, 2016 11:23 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thisnewdayToday they are cleaning our hotel suite and so, after dropping the grandson off at school and picking up Her Nurseliness from work, I got a coffee from the McDonald's on Erie Boulevard and sat drinking it while I waited for the nearby Barnes & Noble to open for the day. Once inside I purchased a book, based on nothing more than its sentimental title and dedication.
I also looked at a purportedly high-end pocket journal and a matching flat-profile pen, which was sold separately. The pen was said to be refillable/rechargeable and was also high-end. An impression which was confirmed for me by the discovery that the second language on the packaging was French.
If they'd also said that the $15 price for each of them would somehow be reflected in the quality of what was written on or with them, I might've gone for it. But since no such claim was made, I left with my sentimentally-chosen paperback and bought my customary Bic pen and spiral-bound notepad at Walmart. A decision which will likely stand as my most viable claim to rationality in recent months.
Then I set out to replace the black nylon shaving bag which is now relegated to the rear-most compartment of our SUV because of the dirty brown hue and acrid odor which now cling to it.
Some years ago, I'd written an entry which told of my encounter with a man who'd moments before been driven out of his house by a raging fire and was frantic for fear that his dog was lost in it.
I wrote about it in a way that I hoped would both capture the terror of those moments and memorialize his loss in their aftermath.
For myself, I can only say, as I sit in the noisy lobby of a small hotel off the interstate highway, that our dogs are both safe and that what was lost will in time be replaced.
And that afterwards, our trainwreck lives will likely continue unimpeded toward our next encounter with recurring madness...
LPK
LiveJournal
6.6.2016
I also looked at a purportedly high-end pocket journal and a matching flat-profile pen, which was sold separately. The pen was said to be refillable/rechargeable and was also high-end. An impression which was confirmed for me by the discovery that the second language on the packaging was French.
If they'd also said that the $15 price for each of them would somehow be reflected in the quality of what was written on or with them, I might've gone for it. But since no such claim was made, I left with my sentimentally-chosen paperback and bought my customary Bic pen and spiral-bound notepad at Walmart. A decision which will likely stand as my most viable claim to rationality in recent months.
Then I set out to replace the black nylon shaving bag which is now relegated to the rear-most compartment of our SUV because of the dirty brown hue and acrid odor which now cling to it.
Some years ago, I'd written an entry which told of my encounter with a man who'd moments before been driven out of his house by a raging fire and was frantic for fear that his dog was lost in it.
I wrote about it in a way that I hoped would both capture the terror of those moments and memorialize his loss in their aftermath.
For myself, I can only say, as I sit in the noisy lobby of a small hotel off the interstate highway, that our dogs are both safe and that what was lost will in time be replaced.
And that afterwards, our trainwreck lives will likely continue unimpeded toward our next encounter with recurring madness...
LPK
LiveJournal
6.6.2016
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no subject
Date: 2016-06-06 10:48 pm (UTC)Good to see you writing again, of course, I'm curious about the title of the book chosen for its sentimental title.
no subject
Date: 2016-06-07 08:22 am (UTC)The dedication reads, "Papa, you were the only person who read everything I ever wrote from the moment I learned to write. I will miss you at all times. I see you in every ray of evening light and in every wave of every sea. You left in midsentence."
She continues on the next page, "Dedicated to the departed." And then, following a line of ellipses, "And to those who go on loving them."
no subject
Date: 2016-06-07 03:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-06-07 08:14 am (UTC)Although the fire itself was confined to that room, there is smoke and water damage throughout the upstairs and considerable water damage downstairs. We'll be out of the house for about a month while the room is gutted, sheet-rocked, and repainted and the same is done to part of the downstairs.
That said, despite the major dislocation of lives which come with such events, we consider ourselves very lucky because, only a few weeks prior, two adults and four children perished in a house fire only a mile or so away from us in the city.
And yes, it's bizarre and awful that someone else's tragedy is what it takes to make us feel lucky...
no subject
Date: 2016-06-07 11:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-06-07 12:45 pm (UTC)The dedication in the book made me tear up, wonderful words. Oh so sorry about your home fire, but oh so grateful you are all okay. I have an irrational fear of house fires. My 2 yr old granddaughter died in one 24 years ago.
no subject
Date: 2016-06-08 03:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-06-08 03:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-06-08 03:33 pm (UTC)I never go anywhere without a book. I'm still reading the Hemingway bio and loving it. What an amazing man he was. Not as much time to read cause there are peas to be picked and green beans coming on. Finally, my daughter admitted she's not sure about the move, but I'm downright terrified to hope she might change her mind.
Peace is elusive for me, my life is marked by a number of tragic events, but i do appreciate your kind thoughts.
no subject
Date: 2016-06-08 03:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-06-08 09:23 pm (UTC)BTW, your thought process on pocket lint and tiny thoughts - awesome, and it gave me a smile, sure needed that.