Bald and skinny, 80 years old,  there was an energy about him men half his age lacked; he was trying to get from this place to that, and I was trying to get the store clerk to give him clearer directions, and between us we managed to draw four very different maps,  all of  which the old man cheerfully tucked under his arm.

"I'm gonna get on my Harley and RIDE, baby"-- we all smiled.

He leered at me and winked, "--wanna come? we could have fun, your old man wouldn't know the…

There were two weeks of rain,  a steady  numbing downpour  that invaded our souls, filled the otherwise silent rooms with the sound of  a river rushing through a ravine; leaving the house was nearly impossible--Katy said it was like swimming through a waterfall--and after the power went out we began to revert to a rhythm not unlike that of our not so distant ancestors went through-- eat, tend the fireplaces, sleep, read, turn…

He said:  I should never have gotten that drunk, man, I was WASTED.

I was falling in love with you, you know, just never had the nerve to tell you.

Guess I was scared too.

I did come back,  your Mom told me you were engaged; I got pissed over that
and decided, the hell with this.

Found out too late you weren't married after all--so  I guess your Mom lied.

Maybe we just weren't supposed to happen--who knows.  

If you were allowed to hear only six singers, musicians, bands, etc. for the rest of your life, who would you pick?

1)David Gray

2) Bob Dylan

3) James Taylor

4) Beethoven

5) Eddie Vedder

6) Elton John

Oh crap they brought the dog

You're WHAT?

I think we need to get a lawyer for this

Is it broken?

What was that crackly sound?

I smell smoke

I love you bigger than a breadbox

filled with aromatic breads suitable

for serving warm, with honey, at midnight

I love you longer than a city block

where streetlights at dusk are lit

by a small old man

carrying a lantern on a long pole

You are the deluxe assortment…

Riley At 56 

 

   

 the blue in his eyes is beginning to fade

 he looks sad and puzzled most of the time

Phones don't usually carry good news at midnight;  she grabbed the receiver, expecting only and always the worst:  instead, a familiar voice, as close as breathing.

Hey, remember me?

Yes, she said, of course I do;  and even in the act of speaking realized how impossible this conversation was about to become; Jake, she said,  how...um,  where...

He laughed,  she could almost see his eyes crinkling at the corners when he had teased her…

1.  60 mpg  Autos Roll off Assembly Line

2.  Romney WINS again, credits running mate Sarah Palin as key to success

3. Red Sox sweep the Series

4.  Queen Elizabeth steps down, passing the crown along to her aging son

5.  Martha Stewart goes into retirement

6. Bill Gates declares bankruptcy

All we have been is now memory, and what we will be  hasn't happened yet.

The now we stand on is a small painted turtle, moving unsteadily into the future.

To consider your own past as having no relevance is to deny your entire…

He watched her move down the street, stepping hard and fast, coat unbuttoned and flapping in the wind;  he shook his head, partly in surprise,  partly in anger that she really didn't come back, not  this time.

The argument seemed to come out of nowhere, it wasn't his fault, she nagged him into saying those things and then suddenly there she was,  tight-lipped, white-faced, pulling on her coat and oh how the door slammed behind her when she left! 

It was funny, at first,  less…

The phone rings at 7:30 pm;  "hi, my name is Dave mumble mumble and I just want to ask you a few quick political survey questions about..." 

"--Dave, I really don't have time for this,  and I would soooo appreciate it if you could take us off your call list, hon, could you do that for us?"

"Well, sure, I'll do that right away--sorry you couldn't answer the survey--?"

"I've already answered it twice, that does seem like…

the fireflies

must think

it's God

She felt her skin growing warmer in a way she hadn't felt in  months: heat flowed up from her belly, across her breasts and into her cheeks, and she knew again the pleasure of that sexual flush, knew she was   young, beautiful, and desirable: the man watching her reflected that, and he smiled a slow sleepy smile of  want;  No hurry, it said,  We have plenty of time.



But in the back of her mind a small rough voice was whispering, "what happens when the lights dim, what…

what if he'd been sober that night.

what if she'd  been braver.

what if  she had waited.

what if he had come back.

what if they had gotten married.

what if they hadn't, after all.

the sound of the RedSox on the radio, prop. planes droning slowly overhead, summer in the city

the way roller skates ran differently on different kinds of sidewalks

double dutch jump rope

tetherball in the school yard at recess

lemonade and viciously hard gingersnaps on the shadowy cool porch at Mrs. Hanchett's

what Christmas smelled like

In the supermarket, he pushes the cart, leaning heavily on the handle, while she darts back and forth, adding eggs, milk, bread, cereal,  hurrying to keep up with his slow, steady pace. 

He wedges the dog food bag in the bottom rack, brings down  things from the  high shelves;

wordless, grimly bored,  they travel around the store. At the checkout line she unloads the cart, he swipes his bank card across the ATM processor;  outside, they hesitate and then he points, and they cross…

Keep it simple, the clerk said, so I took off the scarf  and the bangle bracelets,

exchanged the three inch spikes  for a low heeled suede that matched the dress.

 

She smiled, and waited;   I removed  three rings,  the nose ring, the ear studs (all six of them),

and the tennis bracelet. 

She nodded encouragingly;  Ah, I thought. 

Getting into the spirit of it all, I discarded the sparkly pin and  another ring;  and then she reached…

My uncle Al, diagnosed with diabetes, coming to our house for Thanksgiving dinner with his new prosthesis, and giving me the frosting off his cake because he wasn't supposed to have it.

my first bicycle,  only bicycle, actually, which I got when I was ten and rode until I was fifteen.

working at a local resort the year I left college,  for 50 cents an hour (plus tips,  yeah right),  and being dragooned into extra duty with the other waitresses as window…