After classes, Ed drives me to the garage that had been attending to the door issues of my bright red Ford Escort. Insofar as his car (or truck) experiences problems that he cannot fix, he takes them to J&K Repair and it is always the lowest bid and the best work in town. The door now opens on my Escort, the engine light has quit flashing, and the charge is all of $30.
Unfortunately, J&K is close to Farm & Fleet and so we have to stop there as well. To pick up a steel flat stock, and also a trowel for the cement job that needs to be done to support the jackposts in the basement of the farmhouse. Enough construction talk for you?
I am a tad concerned when Ed tells me that smoothing cement is a first for him. Mixing it? Working with it? Fine, but apparently smoothing it is an art form that doesn’t come easy for the novice. Why does it matter that it’s not smooth – I ask him. You don’t care what the basement looks like, but I do. Why? I know I’m not likely to get much of an answer there and indeed I get simply – because.
We stop at Menards as well. There, we pick up more lighting fixtures and we examine switches and tracks and all forms of electrical fittings. Loaded with all good deals, we head out. It’s been a long day. I haven’t the oomph even for a trip to the grocery store.
We eat eggs and defrosted bagels and the few shreds of CSA spinach left in the refrigerator.
Have you retreated from the world as you grow older or did you always maintain this personal space which feels so delightful and cut off from turmoil. Does it feel like a bubble to you or does the outside world feel unreal? I'm not sure I'm expressing myself well.
ReplyDeleteElliott:
ReplyDeleteThe answer to the first -- both. Moving from Poland to the States, then back to Poland, then back to the States has meant that to a degree, I have always lived out of a very personal 'suitcase.' I retreat to it often and especially at the end of the day (when I write most of my posts).
But the answer to your second question is -- neither. I'm curious about the world. It's why I travel so much and so far. But the best days are when I'm in places that are quiet rather than conflicted.
I am also spending a lot of time with a person who values stillness over turmoil as much as I do. The difference is he is naturally predisposed to be that way. I deliberately search for ways to be that way.