***
Let me share a moment with you, not a huge one or anything, just a glimpse at what goes on behind my mask... Thanks.
Yesterday was typical of Michigan in May. It starts out cool but sunny, and then, right about the time it's supposed to get warmed up, the breeze kicks in, the clouds pull their wet, cold, gray blanket up to the sky's chin, and you wait for the darkness and the rain to make their decisions.
At the end of a long work day, Larry and I are hanging out in the garage, swilling down our after-work beers (if you don't water your work ethic, it will shrivel up and die). We talk about the work we've done, and what we have to do tomorrow... Maintenance, repairs, construction and the like.
He looks down at his hands and says, "I gotta go scrub my dirty pig-paws." Mine are no better, so we mosey inside. Larry heads for the kitchen sink and I go straight to the back bathroom.
On the way there, I lean my head around the doorway so I can see what Charlie's doing. And a frozen I-beam of horror, anguish, sadness and fear slams right through the middle of my chest.
For just a moment, I had traveled through time back to May of 2015, when my mind was not occupied by a tragedy that most of us can barely speak of. This time last year, we were wondering what kind of a party to throw for Charlie, whose annual Birthday Bash dovetails nicely with Memorial Day weekend on most years.
Yep. Charlie had a birthday party every year of his life... How many of you can say that?
My fried mind had somehow allowed itself to forget that he was gone. In that one instant, he was alive and well and sitting in front of a screen with his favorite meal, pepperoni and milk, growing warm on the table next to him...
And then the moment ended. I'm not sure if I will have any more moments like that one again. I'm not sure if I want anymore moments like that one again. I'm not sure.
Either way, today we go back to work. Just a glimpse of the new typical Michigan in May.
pH 5.1o.16
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NEXT WEEK: Chapter 15 - "Blood Money?"
