Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Story Time

Still coolish and Miss Missy's trying to go broody, wouldn't get off the little basket in the pump house where she was trying to set last night to go roost with the others so Mr. Moon carried the little basket into the hen house with her in it but this morning the basket was tipped, the egg fallen out onto the hay and Mean Meany McMe grabbed the egg and Missy is now sitting in the corner on the ground where I guess she feels cozy and oh- what a process, the laying, the setting the hatching. We shall see. We shall see. Not even sure these eggs are fertile but oh strong the instinct must be to raise new babies.

Going back to town today and Lily and I are going shopping for food by ourselves, no children at all, and you'd think we were going to go get cocktails, manicures, pedicures and massages, as excited as we are about this. But no. Trader Joe's and Costco. Many women will understand this.
After that we are probably going to pick up the boys and go to Owen's favorite restaurant where he can get miso soup and noodles. The restaurant which has the COMFIEST COUCH IN THE WORLD in the bar area which he and I always sit on and sigh and say, "What a comfy couch!" and they have lolly pops at the cash register.

This is life, this is how it rolls sometimes, if you are lucky and here comes Maurice and she woke up Mr. Moon one hour before he had to get up and he is probably not happy with her right now. She had access to her food and there was food in the bowl and yet, she wanted him to come out and be with her while she ate and oh boy. I'm going to hear about this.

Yesterday at the Goodwill, the little girl who was checking me out grimaced as she leaned over to pick up paper to wrap my plates and I said, "What's wrong?" and she said, "Oh, it's a long story. Here. I'll tell you while I wrap your dishes," and I said, "Okay," and leaned against the counter and listened to her story and it involved her baby girl and the Air Force and apartments she wishes she lived in and isn't that why we're all here? To listen to each other stories?

I think so today.

You can tell me yours.

Love...Ms. Moon

P.S.
Here's a poem that my friend L7 shared on the Facebook this morning and I am sharing it with you because it is perfect.

MANIFESTO: THE MAD FARMER LIBERATION FRONT
By Wendell Berry
Love the quick profit, the annual raise,
vacation with pay. Want more
of everything ready-made. Be afraid
to know your neighbors and to die.
And you will have a window in your head.
Not even your future will be a mystery
any more. Your mind will be punched in a card
and shut away in a little drawer.
When they want you to buy something
they will call you. When they want you
to die for profit they will let you know.
So, friends, every day do something
that won’t compute. Love the Lord.
Love the world. Work for nothing.
Take all that you have and be poor.
Love someone who does not deserve it.
Denounce the government and embrace
the flag. Hope to live in that free
republic for which I stands.
Give your approval to all you cannot
understand. Praise ignorance, for what man
has not encountered he has not destroyed.
Ask the questions that have no answers.
Invest in the millennium. Plant sequoias.
Say that your main crop is the forest
that you did not plant,
that you will not live to harvest.
Say that the leaves are harvested
when they have rotten into the mold.
Call that profit. Prophesy such returns.
Put your faith in the two inches of humus
that will build under the trees
every thousand years.
Listen to the carrion—put your ear
close, and hear the faint chattering
of the songs that are to come.
Expect the end of the world. Laugh.
Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful
though you have considered all the facts.
So long as women do not go cheap
for power, please women more than men.
Ask yourself: Will this satisfy
a woman satisfied to bear a child?
Will this disturb the sleep
of a woman near to giving birth?
Go with your love to the fields.
Lie down in the shade. Rest your head
in her lap. Swear allegiance
to what is highest in your thoughts.
As soon as the generals and the politicos
can predict the motions of your mind,
lose it. Leave it as a sign
to mark the false trail, the way
you didn’t go. Be like the fox
who makes more tracks than necessary,
some in the wrong direction.
Practice resurrection.

12 comments:

  1. Just last night I was savoring a book of Wendell Berry's poems, Leavings. His poetry is like finding a spring in the desert.

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  2. Aww, bless you for listening! And wow for the poem, I gobbled it whole.It's like a date when I go to do errands with just the man...

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  3. For some reason this line jumped out at me.

    Be joyful
    though you have considered all the facts.

    Thank you.

    And have fun on your woman date with Lily!

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  4. I remember when I first started being able to go shopping without kids. It was the year 2000. I'm not kidding.
    I can't believe Maurice doesn't stay up all night and sleep all day! That's what my Kamir does! He still wakes me up too early when he wants in, cats have no sense of time. They just want what they want when they want it.

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  5. Emma, the cat, usually wants out around 5 AM. then she wants in when we get up. If I'm sleeping late Marc won't let her in because she looks for me and if she sees me in the bed she will mew and meow incessantly until I get up. she justs wants me up.

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  6. Is it possible your orange Maurice and my orange Whiskey are related? Because Whiskey wants me to pet him the entire time he eats. He does not want to eat if no one is scratching his neck.

    I think it is an incredible act of generosity that you listened to her story. I confess that when patrons at the library want to tell me their stories, I often get tetchy.

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  7. Thank you for these fine details of your life and for that gorgeous poem, which I will print out and carry with me for a while.

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  8. My story. The black dog is back full force. He has been around a bit lately but now he is in the house. I have not even been able to get out of bed today. Fear. Anxiety. Depression.

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  9. Florence- Isn't that the truth?

    Big Mamabird- I hear you. You get in a car and go and do something with someone and it IS a date. Especially if they're someone you love.

    Angella- We did have fun! So much!

    heartinhand- Maurice wants us to get up too. And watch her eat. Or something. But no, mostly she sleeps all day AND all night.

    Ellen Abbott- We are their family, I guess, and as such, they like to hang out with us. Maybe?

    Ms. Vesuvius- Oh my lord. A cat that wants to be scratched while eating? I've never heard that one before.
    Well, if I had to deal with the public all the time, I'd go mad. When this lady said "I'll tell it to you..." I at first thought, "Oh Jeez," but then I thought, "Hey- where do I have to be?" And it was fine.

    Andrea- I'm not really a poetry person but that one kicked me in the butt and made me pay attention.

    Birdie- Oh, fuck no. That is the worst. How I wish I could do something for you! Mine has faded and I feel so much better today. Maybe yours will slink out when you're not looking. I pray that will be so.

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  10. I love that poem. Thank you for posting it.

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  11. People can never understand me when I appear genuinely interested in other people’s little stories. I love it!

    You’re right - life should be shared and not just confined to our own bubble. What a waste.

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  12. I like to hear people's stories. I hear a lot of them in Al-Anon. So much tragedy and sadness and thankfully, joy, too. I could not just listen to the tragic and sad stories without their being a solution in joy.

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.