Paradise

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by Louis Jenkins



January finally drags into February and one fumbles with
numb fingers at the ordinary knots and hooks of life. People
are irritable, difficult. Some days you want to stay in bed
with the covers over your head and dream of paradise. A
place where the warm sea washes the white sand. There
are a few palm trees on the higher ground, many brightly
colored fish in the lagoon, waves breaking on the reef
farther out. No one in sight. Occasionally an incredibly
large, split-second shark darkens the clear water. Sea birds
ride the wind currents, albatross, kittiwake, ... and pass
on. Day after day, sea wind and perfect sky .... You make a
big heap of driftwood on the beach




I've been down for the count with  all of some variation of the many influenza strains not covered by the 2013 flu vaccine. There's been much moaning and gnashing of teeth; usually the cat, as I've attempted to carry him with me from one unsatisfactory lay-about spot to another. Fortunately I was able to catch up with years worth of Law and Order episodes I had missed while I was busy working and living a life so was able to see what Chris Noth, AKA Mr. Big, looked like when he was, I don't know, eighteen/nineteen years old. Handsome dude at ay age.

Today will be my version of the Flu Treadmill Test whilst I go grocery shopping in the midst of snow falling. Here in CinCity that's the Bat Signal to rush to any food market and buy up all the bread and milk on the shelves. Gluten and lactose be damned.




Comments

  1. The BugFebruary 5, 2013 at 11:32 AM

    I had to buy bread (& over $80 worth of other stuff) last Friday ahead of Saturday's storm. But then I do buy break almost every week. No milk though - that lactose free stuff lasts a frightenly long time.

    Hope you pass your test & that you are WELL. Since you're a nurse I won't do the usual "don't start back to your real life too quickly" mantra :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. LydiaFebruary 6, 2013 at 1:04 AM

    I am so sorry to learn that you have been ill (your label describing it is hilarious) and hope full return to wellness is right around the corner. Came here to tell you that I have finally posted the May Sarton New Years poem over at Clutterquake, and to thank you, once again, for all the wonders you have shared here through the years.

    Now. Get Thee Well. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. RudeeFebruary 9, 2013 at 6:56 AM

    I could have sworn the bug I had was influenza, but the nasopharyngeal swab--a test concocted in hell--swore differently. I was short of breath for two weeks and when I finally made it to the store to stock up, and found that once there, I'd made a colossal mistake in going alone. I hope you survived your foray into the store and are now feeling better.

    I worked afternoon shift for years and never, ever saw Seinfeld. That was a delight to catch up on when I finally got a normal schedule.

    ReplyDelete

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Hey, thanks for your thoughts and your time:>)

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