Travel & Moving
Imaginary Numbers
I have a friend who does numerology in California & she called me up one night & said that 444 was the number of Wal-Mart, which is 30 percent off of 666 & we were both amazed & then I hung up the phone & said now I remember why we moved to Iowa.
Hope Chest
I threw out my hope chest a while back
because it was too big to carry around with me all the time,
but I still kept all the blankets & clothes.
I just dress in more layers now
& I’m hoping to move to a cooler climate soon.
Heading South
They drove south one winter until they could stand outside with no coats on & we never saw them again.
Hate to Mow
He told me once that he never planned to settle down. It’s not that I’m afraid of commitment, he said, I just hate to mow.
Geographer
I like Geography best, he said, because your mountains and rivers know the secret. Pay no attention to boundaries.
Getaway Weekend
escaping as quickly as they can from a getaway weekend gone bad
Funny World
He told me about Jesus & Arizona & the best way to make beer & I said you’re a funny kind of preacher & he said it’s a funny kind of world & I still remember his eyes clear as a desert morning.
Future Plan
I’m trying to pack for the future, he said, but I think it’s too much stuff.
So what are you going to do? I said.
& he shrugged & said he was going to trust that everything would work out.
& he added, I’m moving back in with my parents.
Garage Sale
After she had that last big garage sale she floated off into the sky & I heard her say there was nothing keeping her here anymore & I was much more cautious about the stuff I got rid of after that.
Free Will
That’s the thing about free will, he told us. You can drag me along, but there’s no way in hell you can make me have fun.
Fog People
There are your fog people & your sun people, he said. I said I wasn’t sure which kind I was. He nodded. Fog’ll do that to you, he said.
Favorite Places
I’m not that good at being a tourist because I’m always looking at the way the light shines in your hair or the way your dress opens to the wind & my favorite places in the world are places filled with you.
Enig med meg
Jeg tror livet ville ha vaert lettere, sa hun, om bare jeg selv kunne bli enig med meg om noe
Den egentlige grunnen
Det er noen ting man gjar fordi de foles riktige & de er kanskje uten mening & de gir deg ingen penger & de kan vaere den egentlige grunnen til at vi er her: for a elske hverandre & spise hverandres mat & si at det smakte godt.
Different Place
Thinks about moving to someplace else where everything is different enough to be fun again.
De ti bud
Jeg spurte henne hvorfor hun aldri fortalte oss om De to bud & hun sa at hun aldri hadde vaert flink med tall sa hun elsket alt sa godt hun kunne & jeg husker at jeg tenkte hvem trenger alle disse reglene nar en har en mor som henne
Cultural Fable
Once upon a time there was a pig who spoke eight languages & did sculpture with pieces of wood & rusted metal he found on his travels. One day he was out in the woods working on a new installation piece & he met a family from a small town in Tennessee. They had been walking for days. The dad saw the pig & said what are you doing, little piggie? They were all quite surprised when the pig said working with counterbalanced forces using found objects. They all stood around & looked at the piece for a long time. No one said anything. Finally, the dad shrugged & turned to the mom & said I don’t know much about art but I know what I like & then they killed the pig & ate him.
Couch Explorer
When I was young I always wanted to go exploring in a cave and when I got older I finally did & it was dark everywhere & there were strange sounds like your stomach after a big meal & I couldn’t wait to get out. I figured out later that I mainly liked to go exploring caves in my mind where I could be comfortable & not get dirty & cold. If you read too much National Geographic when you’re young it’s hard to adjust to the real world.
Couple of Wrongs
I’m not sure if there’s one right place I’m supposed to be, he said, but I know a couple of wrong places I’d give a second try in a heartbeat.
Comfort
Whenever I go on a trip, I think about all the homes I’ve had
& I remember how little has changed about what comforts me.