Fire

Saturday, May 22, 2010

In the aftermath of a day of splurges, it was good to see the chubby Puckling again.

The skies were clear over blue from horizon to horizon that middle-spring morning. Badminton, mancala, and Izzy preparing for the spring formal that evening before taking off with Gloria for an Eagle Scout project meet-up for a fellow Scout.

After OLeif grilled sandwiches and enjoyed an hour of conversation with his dad over potato chips and leftover beers from his field trip to the City Museum, he and Theodore left to pick up a bit router from the store.

In the late afternoon, Collette joined Carrie-Bri on a visit to Memorial where Dr. Wintershine had promised a giant Pentecostal flame. Carrie was a little worried that he had told the congregation he had been experimenting with certain types of ‘excessively’ flammable alcohol all week.

But first, at the house, waiting for departure time, Rose was showing Collette her terrible photograph file, which included unflattering pictures of family members stuffing their faces and Dad walking on his hands in the yard last year.

“Unsuccessful cartwheel, Dad?” Carrie asked him.

“No,” Dad insisted. “I was walking on my hands. I already know how to do a cartwheel.”

“Oh, yeah?” Carrie replied. “Prove it.”

But Dad just got his smile lines.

The church service was uncannily Catholic in nature, but interesting all the same. Incense, processions, Gregorian chant, Latin hymns from a pastor with a beautiful Shakespearean voice, and fire. Yes, much fire.

Afterwards, they dropped in at the grocery store for a fruit tray with dip, deviled eggs, and bottled Fiji water, after which they joined Lucia at Forest Park for forty-five minutes of sitting in the cool breezes and rainbow sunset of a spring evening.