Rose's Second & Third Installments

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Wednesday was a Monk morning and afternoon – prayer, contemplation, and Scriptures. Meanwhile, Mom took Linnea to her piano lesson with Madge Wheels, where she learned that the rattlesnake was being introduced to Missouri as the third venomous snake in the state, according to Madge’s neighbor, whose brother worked in the conservation department of Missouri.

“People are dropping them from helicopters,” Mom said. “For some reason, we need rattlesnakes here, apparently.”

Carrie-Bri continued her spell of bored relaxation, watching part of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow in the late afternoon before leaving for work. Joe had been recording Flint River during the day (after having spent the night at Wally’s for his birthday) and returned in time to complete the mowing for the two-night Boy Scout camp out in the backyard for himself, Wallace, Curly, Izzy, Frances, and Chester. Rose was to escape the madness by attending the movies with Bob B. and his mom that evening after finishing another two oil paint masterpieces. (Collette guessed that one of the titles would be – Smashed Tomato.) The other piece was truly called – Watching the Twilight Zone with Boys (after having viewed said program with Joe, Wallace, and Curly the night before. Rose tried to pawn off this particular piece to Mom to place on the china cabinet in the dining room; Mom refused.)

“You just don’t appreciate fine art,” Rose whooped. “You don’t decorate with art. You decorate with fruit. You don’t like my work. You hang up Frances’ stuff.”

Rose propped the still-wet painting back on top of the cabinet.

Frances mowed nearly the entire yard and went off to trade air-soft guns with Creole and worked with Joe’s and Collette’s identical radios (broadcasting from all over the world), courtesy of Grandma Combs, naturally. Linnea organized her Polly Pocket collection behind the easy chair in the living room.

And while the boys roughed it in the wilds of the Snickett back lawn, Mom, Collette, and Linnea went to Culver’s for dinner.