"Olá menino. What are you doing?"
"I am meditating upon the pure present. What are you doing?"
"Pulling a plow around in the early 1950s. What does that tell you?"
"That my technique needs work, that I'm not following instructions very well. I'm supposed to ignore the past and future, concentrate on the moment."
"Ah, mau menino! You think the field needs no care, even here, so long ago?"
"I'm not a 'bad baby', Mary. I'm 64 years old!"
"A place to start, followed by another place to start and another."
"Mary, is this true?"
"If the premise is sound, so is the proposal, Geo."
"I'm confused, Mary. Anything you can tell me will be helpful."
"Pobre menino, can one live in the moment when one is a composite of an entire life, a history and future? Consider Isaiah 63:13: "Who led them through the depths? Like a horse in the desert, they did not stumble." We did not stumble because we were bred to have huge hooves."
"Like yours, Mary. Like a work horse. It began there?"
"Yes, we saw a star, full of bioelectric patterns in a state of flux, indicating a being who was not native to our continuum. We were laden with gifts and diapers and ridden across the sand."
"Horses are Christians?"
"Nothing so grandiose, Geo., we are sensitive but never exaggerate ourselves. No we only like to smell babies' heads, just like everybody else."
"Can you advise me, Mary? How do I proceed?"
" I can only give one piece of advice. I know you have trouble with spelling in every language you've studied, but you must --above all errors-- avoid confusing flamenco with flamingo...
At this juncture, the last of my three-part series, I'd like to wish everyone prosperity and peace in this and all seasons. We have a busy Yuletide ahead and mustn't buy too many gadgets. To suddenly transform a society with technology can be harmful and destructive, especially if your forget to buy the proper batteries. I have gone repeatedly back out to stores to correct this oversight. Go thou and do likewise. Merry Christmas!
Funny, I never thought of Mary as a horse! Also, I hope you remembered to get batteries for the flamingo on the lawn! Enjoy Festivus!
ReplyDeleteIndeed Festivus for the rest of us, but I shall leave "the feats of strength" to Mary the horse. Merry Christmas, Will!
DeleteAfter ingesting too much Tequila, I have on occasion seen pink elephants dancing the flamenco with flamingos.
ReplyDeleteThe older I get, the more I feel like a work horse plowing a field and pondering the past. The future doesn't extend much farther than the horizon (that actually sounds more gloomy than I meant it to be).
Have a wonderful holiday season, Geo!
Very dangerous for the flamingos. You have a great holiday too!
DeleteAnd a Mary Christmas to you too - with thanks.
ReplyDeleteHa! Thank You, EC!
DeleteIt's a kinda strange experience visiting this blog, but having found it I must return. Yes, certainly strange. Wishing you and yours all the very best this Christmas.
ReplyDeleteThanks Tom. Happy holidays!
DeleteMerry Christmas, Geo. I've enjoyed catching up on your Christmas tales!
ReplyDeleteSame to you, Sage. Most kind!
Deletehave gone and have done likewise...now we are sitting here in the present awaiting an ice storm in the future and making preparations we hope are not necessary. A Merry Christmas to you and yours...eat drink and be merry because the next day is Boxing Day.
ReplyDeleteAll my best, Delores. Hope weather is not too severe!
DeleteLoved all three of them.
ReplyDeleteBroad smiles.
Happy Christmas and all things bright and beautiful.
Kind Friko! Best to you.
DeleteDear Geo.,
ReplyDeleteat your biblical age (hahaha) you should guess from which song this is:
"When she moves she walks so fine like a flamingo / Crimson dress that clings so tight / She's out of reach and out of sight "
Yep - Manfred Mann... and yep: the tight clinging dress: almost like tights :-)
I wish you and Norma a Merry Christmas - Feliz Natal e boas Entradas! Britta xx
Obrigado, minha senhora amável!
DeleteAh. It made much more sense when I realized Mary was a horse, LOL.
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas to you and yours, Geo.!
Mary the Horse has always been a most sensible angel.
DeleteWell--simply put--you are my hero.
ReplyDeleteKind Suze, thanks.
DeleteWorried about my tiny hooves- perhaps if I size up my boots I would stumble less? But meanwhile, a proportionally generous amount of Yuletide Cheer is heading your way :-) xx
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your calm happy good wish very much, Lisa. Christmas time in this country is designed to thin out the weak.
ReplyDeleteI read your Christmas stories – a bit different from those I read to my daughters when they were little – but then you are on the West Coast, so that must be the explanation… Have a great New Year and the rest of the year too.
ReplyDeleteMerci mon Wanderer, et le meilleur pour vous aussi!
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