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Sunday, February 22, 2015

Errata 2 And Coronation

Happily, I have got through the worst of withdrawal and am bothered  only by occasional panic, attempts to remove my trousers over my head and a sort of fizzing sound between my ears. I believe the fizz is because my serotonin has got carbonated --like kings and queens undergo carbonation and afterward wear crowns. However, I can still think, so how important can brain chemicals really be? Hah?

Last night I decided it would be an excellent time to service our lawn mower, then got into the '71 VW Bus and disassembled its headlight and turn-signal relays which were full of brackish water from our last rain. I used watchmaker's tools, a blow-dryer, tiny scraps of emery cloth and WD-40. It worked! I was done by 3 a.m.
I just fixed the hell out of everything last night and everything worked this morning but I am well now and will not indulge in such foolishness again. My solace from this ostentation of modesty and industry is directed toward calmer joys. One of my favorite, calmest, joys is a good hotel and a good visit. So let's draw a curtain over the poor specimen above and look at some heretofore unposted recent photos:
This, I recognize as our room at Hotel Monaco in San Francisco on a very special evening last month. I was meditating and sampling the contents of a delightful cupboard at lower left. A surprisingly good sauvignon blanc occupied my attention for some time. Norma, however, was feeling enclosed --"bunchy" she calls it-- and wandered off to take Normaphotos of Normaphotos and so on until she had exhausted the possibilities of a quite attractive mirror frame.
After which, she returned to finish the glass of wine I had poured for her and thereupon retired. I stayed up a bit longer to plan our next day of business --besides, I retired nearly 6 years ago and needn't rush into it every night like it was something I forgot to do.

The phone call went like this: "Hello?"

"Hi, it's Mom."
"I hear static. Are you far away?"

"That's not static. That's the Pacific. If we were farther away we'd get wet."

I interject: "Tell him to put his shoes on and walk 2 blocks west."

"Ohmigosh! Be right there."

There was a five-minute wait, during which Normaphotoed The Ascent Of Man , followed by a lanky figure galumphing over the dunes to hug us and say, "It's so nice to run to the seashore and find my parents on it!"

Sometimes one must take one's thoughts --if not whole self-- to the continent edge to get one's bearings and I have done this, recently enough to regain mastery of myself. Coronation --or is it carbonation?-- is important and I have reclaimed my crown. The world is mine. Where ever shall I put it?



22 comments:

  1. No need to put it anywhere but just hug it for a while.

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    1. That is indeed a royal right of parenthood.

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  2. I am glad that your withdrawal is over... I really am. But it sounds like you had such a good time doing it that I am a little sad for you. Welcome back to reality.

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    1. Thank you! It's nice to be back. Reality is so reliable, you can get it out again and again.

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  3. It's a curious fact that I often experience panic and fizzing sounds between my ears without going through withdrawal. I've been known to wear cowboy hats but can't recall ever donning a crown.

    I couldn't exist without WD-40............or anything over 40 proof.

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    1. Good to see your humor returning, Jon! You're a pretty resilient guy --but as to WD-40 and 40 proof, don't forget which is which.

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  4. Just lately I've been getting a ringing in my ears....I've tried to answer it but no one's there.

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    1. Hah! Maybe our brains are making prank calls.

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  5. Well, I'll keep this edge of the continent for myself (but I sure do envy you for the western edge is pretty nice, too).

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    1. We sure get to live in a beautiful country, Sage. We're lucky guys!

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  6. Geo,
    I have been to hotel Monaco in Denver a few times and took Jake as well.
    It was a great stay!

    It's always so good to read you!
    You make me smile ..

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    1. Thanks, Margie. I think the Monaco is Norma's new favorite too.

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  7. Glad you are on the back end of the withdrawal process. I smiled at your late night repair session. I too do such industry in the wee small hours. Just last evening I took to cleaning computer, television and phone screens when I should have been sleeping to gain power for my morning tennis match.

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    1. Tom, sometimes we go through stuff that fouls up our sleep cycles and just have to make some good use of ourselves. I'm back to my regular internal clock settings and hope you are too --except, you know, a lot of these screen cleanings and automotive adjustments just never occur to us in daylight.

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  8. I stayed in a hotel recently in Liverpool. My son George loves it there, calls it a bit of luxury. The toilet pan was cracked. Quite spoiled the whole stay for me. I kept thinking of all the money it was costing me to have a bathroom with a cracked toilet pan. I can do that for nothing at home!

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    1. I hope you asked for a discount on your bill. Hotels sometimes reward inconvenienced guests -- and keep their toilet problems from being publicly leaked.

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  9. Dear Geo., I'm glad your withdrawal period is over. Nature often advises a withdrawal period - called hibernation - a creator's phantasy needs it too (we call it 'creative pause') - and sometimes it is just the je-ne-sais-quoi created by the blah of January, February (that catches me sometimes). Whatever the reason: good to have you and your very innovative way to see the world back!

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    1. Thanks, dear Brigitta. My adjustment is happily complete. Between "creative pause" and "I-don't-know-what", I had a full week of vigorous blahs and they made me tired. Ok now though!

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  10. I haven’t the faintest idea what you are talking about. Talk about enigmas!

    However, it looks like you’ll soon be back to your only slightly less mangled self again; looking forward to it.

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    1. True, not all enigmas are pleasant but there's satisfaction in rediscovering oneself in their solution.

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  11. "attempts to remove my trousers over my head and a sort of fizzing sound between my ears" - sounds like me during college on a typical Saturday night.

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    1. Yes, I think it was a phase particular to that age that just got worse on weekends, Keith.

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