Dear Maria,
Watching a Red-bellied woodpecker clinging to the birdfeeder
this chilly morning. He does not feed like all the other birds but is
deliberately pecking at whatever it is that interests him that is above the
feed line. And now a cat is easing through the garden towards the feeder. Max?
Oh, he is sleeping a couple of feet from the sliding glass door.
This cat is the same one that once upon a time would sometimes
come over the fence and nap in the garden between the japonica and the tea
olive. I haven’t seen him, well, since Max’s arrival. Apparently, they have not
met. Yet. So the birds have flown and cat and dog snooze. Peace on earth,
indeed. With a glass wall, of course.
You will be glad to know I took your advice and stopped
inflicting my domino theory of human interaction on folks, but don’t get too
giddy. Now I am going with a much more refined version of my Pick-up stick
theory. Oh, yes, those pick-up sticks from our childhood.
Don’t pretend you’re not curious. Goes like this: You drop
your sticks—and here’s the refined thinking—and everyone else in your life is
also dropping their sticks and the clincher, an unseen hand is dropping sticks.
Fate, luck, destiny, nature. God.
Each move you make may or may not help you, may or may not
help others. And the others are picking up sticks. And the invisible hand. Someone
might come along and take a stick without leaving any behind. Someone might add
more to the pile and just move on. But the sticks never disappear, players come
and go, the game never ends.
Good luck, then, to all with control issues. Ties in nicely—or
so I think—with my “Didn’t see that coming” mantra. I’ll let that ray of
brilliance dazzle you some other day. Lucky girl.
Chilly days ahead, but sunny, and so a rake surely is in the
forecast. No doubt your pulse is quickening, the holidays upon us. Tis a great
season. Hope all is well and you will have plenty of time to enjoy the family.
Yours, and still just,
srk
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