Japan Shake
Friday, March 11, 2011
In which a huge earthquake strikes Japan, and word is waited from Justus in Nagano…
OLeif left nearer seven o’clock that morning. This made Puck happy. A tickle-fest was in order. And it was not more than thirty seconds apart that Puck could be heard to say…
“I will miss you, Daddy.”
As Collette was washing dishes that morning, Puck watched her.
“You know what Mr. Rogers says?” he asked. “You can never go down the dream (drain)!”
Collette heard mid-morning about the 8.9 earthquake in Japan, the largest in Japan’s recorded history.
And there was no news about Justus’ condition, presumably still in Nagano.
Word was waiting…
Into the early afternoon…
The windows had long been open. For a morning that began with heavy frost, the hours had turned towards 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
Puck pulled on his wellies and hurried outside to begin digging in the dirt.
“Don’t dig up the flowers,” Collette cautioned.
He, in fact, picked several of the delicate purple crocus that grew wild in the yard and brought them to his mama, smiling dimples. Collette put them in a small juice glass on the table for supper.
“I think I can dig all the way to China!” he exclaimed, returning to his shovel. “I think I can dig up a treasure chest!”
Around the time Puck dunked in the tub for a bubble bath, Collette heard word that Justus was safe, as was his girlfriend, thankfully even further away from the original impact sight.
At dinner, Collette faced another large temptation. All those hot, buttery waffles with maple syrup. She didn’t eat a bite of them. Life did not have the same luster without breads…
OLeif returned at about 6:30 to find Puck jumping up and down with the usual excitement, to help his daddy put on his slippers and read ‘Pa’ (Little House on the Prairie) together as Puck fell asleep.
Then OLeif dug into his enormous stack of waffles with three different condiments: maple syrup, apple butter, and peanut butter.
Movie night began at 7:30.
While everyone else enjoyed fried cheese sticks, ginger ale, and Italian ices… Collette satisfied herself with two tablespoons of natural peanut butter. Peanut butter that contained nothing but peanuts.
Magnus made the movie selection: The Age of Innocence.
As the film opened, musical interpretations of unfolding flowers filled the screen.
“Uhhhhh….” Joe laughed a little.
“Yeah,” Magnus mocked himself. “These are the kinds of movies Magnus watches. He just sits around at home listening to Radiohead and watches flowers bloom. Yeah.”
“Hipster,” Rose added.
In other news, it seemed as if Travis Snicketts had changed his wedding date once again. The ceremony would now take place Sunday, May 1st, at one o’clock in the afternoon.