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Little
stories:
Southern
style terminology Ijit:( eejeet): in other English speaking zones of the world is actually 'idiot' - or half-wit, he who is bereft of intelligence |
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The incident of the
cat and the strawberries Fresh, ripe strawberries waiting just for me on the counter. Not liking cold stuff, I had left them out to become a tad warmer. When I returned I saw my cat running off with a strawberry in her mouth. In fascination I watched her. She then dropped it and jumped back on the counter. She proceeded to pick them up one at a time in her mouth and drop them on the floor. How could I scold her? I still managed to salvage a few while she nibbled on a really mushy one. |
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Lesson
of the air conditioner repair man:
He
is no spring chicken. His face is care worn.
He looks to be one of those of the noble working class. He looks
like a solid rock of tension. I
liked him. His teeth are not in good 'nick' which is a sign that he
can't be doing all that well - even though he is a diligent worker. He
had a very heavy tool belt hitched around his one shoulder. His body
endeavored to compensate. He looked totally out of whack.
Made me want to run screaming off to the chiropractor.
He mentioned that he had an appointment for an MRI because a
doctor had detected some nasty calcification of the vertebrae.
"Anything to find the cure for these headaches", he said. Naturally,
I went off at him about the most obvious place to look for causes: years
of carrying that awful, heavy tool belt had so distorted his skeletal
structure that he has pinched nerves all over the place. Thereupon I
lectured him about the meaning of living. Shame, I felt sorry for the poor guy - he seemed a really good southern sort. I wish him well. |
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He:
was
wearing red and black and had long greasy hair - thinning now. His
moustache needed grooming. He was an old last century hotshot now
decayed and lonely.
She:
wore an ill-fitting blonde wig; her face was lined with booze and
disillusionment. A cowboy hat dangled behind her. Her
diamante studded denim
skirt, frilly blouse and scuffed knee-high white western boots.
Her eyes were glazed
He:
never
recovered from being a handsome young stud with the "aw
shucks" southern drawl. Now he coughed from too many cigarettes and
too much whisky. Time has been unkind to him. She:
was
once the cute, southern party girl now the old alcoholic, with a tragic
tale of bad men and broken dreams. They:
danced and
stumbled, grinning with missing and dirty teeth trying to find
companionship in their endless need of the bottle, of a semblance of
love.
They
played to the image that they once had. Part
of the rich tapestry of Nashville. *A
wee footnote: In our
travels to other countries we have seen versions of this couple
perceiving life through the bottom of a glass. |
Sigh! One day we shall be able to scan in our
pictures but our accountant, Lynne, says that over her dead body will we
pay ten bucks a shot at Kinkos.
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