All posts by Michele

The New Gas Station Attendant

by Michele on

There’s a new gas station attendant on Western Avenue. He’s a nice enough guy. Friendly and efficient. He wears a baseball cap and has a nice open face. The first time he filled my tank and announced the total, he surprised me with a riff about god. Actually he handed me a piece of hard candy which he said was in keeping with his promise to god.  If someone does something nice for me, I promised god to do something nice in return. I had given him a four dollar tip which was little compensation for him standing in subzero temperatures while I sat in my toasty warm car. I am grateful.

Mentioning god during our short interaction was unnerving.  And it wasn’t a fluke. Every time he fills my tank, I am handed a piece of hard candy embellished with god comments. One good deed deserves a good deed from god. I will pray for you tonight.  I am worn out by the general concept of religion. The Catholic Church refusing to take full responsibility for decades, probably centuries, of child sexual abuse. The born-again Christian churches infusing their constricted values into our political system and causing an already corrupted system to wobble into chaos. The Muslim church inspiring woman-hatred. That’s not even taking into consideration the Crusades and the Spanish Inquisition. All in the name of god. What would Jesus say? Stay out of church. Be careful how you quote god.

The gas station attendant means no harm. He is oblivious to any thought that his conversation might be offensive. He makes me miss my favorite attendant who was twenty-something, complained about the general failings of our world and made me smile when he talked about his guitar. I like to woo the ladies with my base chords. What happened to my guy? By the way, the glove compartment is filled with a growing collection of hard candy.

Bad Advice

by Michele on

I had a vivid dream last night about singing in a dark, little bar. The bar was crowded and raucous. I was aware of singing original work and in some part of my brain, told myself to remember the songs. I didn’t with the exception of Bad Advice. It was a funny song with a catchy refrain. At some point in the dream, most of the audience left. I was disappointed and stopped singing. There were a few people in the back of the bar who told me to keep going. We love your singing.

I am starting a list of bad advice. Feel free to add your own versions of bad advice given by well-meaning or not so well-meaning advisors.

  • Only work for money. Volunteer work is a waste of time.
  • He’s too tall for you.
  • Don’t put yourself out and make yourself tired.
  • Don’t try for …….no one will hire you, vote for you, want you.
  • Women can’t wear their hair long after age 40.
  • You can’t write if you have never taken a writing class.

Additions to come.

002

February has an abundance of sunny days

by Michele on

Sideways look at a little Dreisbrook

Hank looking at the view

By the side of the road

A gauntlet of trees

It’s the middle of winter and I am dreaming about trips to beaches in Portugal and riding camels in Morocco. The seed catalogs remind me about the pleasures of gardening in spring and summer. I remind myself to stay present and be thankful for mid-winter. We are surrounded by gorgeous views everywhere. I soak up the sun during my daily walks with Hank. Craig worked on his clocks for most of the day and I prepared the beets for tomorrow’s Borscht soup.

Sad news about Phillip Seymour Hoffman. He is a gifted actor and his death is another tragic consequence of the availability of cheap heroin. There was so much more work he could have done.