This is how it Is
Friday, March 16, 2012
The day began with puffs of Sistine Chapel clouds washed in by spring-green rain and light sunrise. And a piece of cheddar for breakfast.
Puck had a request…
“Mama. Could you please make Donkey a St. Patrick’s Day shirt?”
Sometimes Collette didn’t really think before agreeing to random…
“Sure.”
Out came the sewing bag and an old green shirt. Clip, clip. Stitch, stitch, stitch. Sketched shamrock – with shading – by a hand not known for its drawing artistry. And… Donkey looked more like he owned a cape than anything else. Decent effort.
“There, buddy.”
“Thanks, Mama. But he needs it attached to his legs too.”
OLeif checked in mid-morning.
Once again, the Master of Spoils, had managed to cook up something fun and new. This time, it was a Cardinals Fan Appreciation Package, which would include ten games of varied and interesting inclusions throughout the season. Another winner.
As the afternoon waxed warmer, Collette reminded Puck about the rules of Quiet Hour, including no talking or removing his person from his room…
“I won’t. I discovered straight into my room!”
Meanwhile, it was a two-bandage afternoon when Puck stubbed open the top layer of his toe. A little blood. A little tears. And he was soon returned outdoors to continue his own ball games and street tar squishing with Collette. The sun was working its magic again, and both of them had a small glow to the face already.
With the kids, Korean subtitled film, Aldi cookies and chocolate milk, the evening kicked off as usual. Although Magnus was reported to be attending a birthday party.
“Do you want any tea?” Rose was asking. “A lady from my Bible study gave me six boxes of Sleepytime Tea.”
It was Joe’s and Rose’s first flavor of Korean cinema. As usual, all forms of decorum were present and practicing…
A door was cracked open as the young woman not having emerged from her room in three years faced her first human encounter with an outsider…
“And the stench of Tutankhamen tomb comes out,” said Rose.
“Psssssss….” Joe imitated the vacuum unsealing.
The woman moved to eat a bowl of coagulated black bean noodles.
“Eeeew!” Rose croaked. “It looks like a scab!”
A tank of jellyfish floated gracefully in the apartment.
“I kind of want to get a jellyfish for my place,” Rose mused. “I’d get a Man of War and a regular jellyfish and put them in there and see what happens.”
“One of them won’t survive,” said OLeif.
“Why?” Rose replied. “They’re both just made of jelly.”
“They’re both filled with poison.”
“I know! The Man of War would win because they float on top and the regular jellyfish float on the bottom.”
“Rose, the Jellyfish Expert.”
“KSDK does a special,” Joe laughed. “Rose, the Jellyfish Master.”
The masculine roll of the film wasn’t too shy about freely shedding his emotions.
“What? Tears?” Rose groaned. “Our Network Administrator got a virus on his computer. A bad one! And all he was doing was looking for bathroom sinks.”
“Is he going to cry again?”
The self-isolated woman ran down the hallway in slow motion daylight, her black-and-blonde hair flowing behind her in heavy strings…
“Dove Shampoo,” Joe dubbed. “Frolic, you fools! La la la la la la…”
“Oh, there’s the moon,” OLeif noted. “I hadn’t seen that before.”
“Product placement,” Joe explained.
“Aw,” Rose said, watching a signature-of-the-film duck boat float down river out to sea.
“I wonder how many strange objects like that are floating out on the ocean,” said Collette.
“Probably not many,” Rose replied. “The ocean people wouldn’t like it. The jellies would get them. They all get together and say, ‘Let’s get rid of this’.”
“And they’d win because the jellies float on top, right, Rose?” Joe laughed.
As Collette carried a stack of snackables up the stairs, she heard Rose still talking…
“Did you see the Groupon they had for half off Lasik? I would never go there.”