You'll be glad to know that my mighty mother-in-law has emerged from surgery with all her colors flying.
If all went according to plan, Rocky went home with his new mom today.
I have been thinking a lot about something I noticed when we were out playing, as it turned out, on our last day together. We had just taken a run through the park and were in the backyard of the old NOCCA building playing tug-of-war. It was among our most epic battles, with both of us using all our cunning and strength, and it lasted quite a while.
And part of the reason, and this is the thing I noticed, was that Rocky never kept the stick. If he got it away from me, there was not even a split second when he exulted in his victory... not even a flicker of glee in his little beady eye. No trying to get me to chase him, even. Quite the opposite, in fact; he seemed... bored, I guess. Maybe a little deflated. And anyway he stood stock still while he waited for me to get a new grip so the game could start again.
It was all about the struggle, for good ol' Rocky. Nothing at all in the completion.
It reminded me of the summers I spent leading hiking trips out in Rocky Mountain National Park. I remember seeing a shirt that said "somewhere between the trailhead and the peak is the reason." This, clearly, is hiking counselor religion; it's something you try to get the campers to believe, especially on those days when weather (or whatever) keeps you from making the peak. We hike because we like hiking, not because we like bagging peaks, you tell them; even though any idiot can look in their faces and know that, by and large, they strongly dislike hiking and are only coming along because of the chance at making the peak (and because archery was full). The end, and only the end, justifies the means.
Rocky would've been a great camper, although it's true that he trips a lot and is weak on trail etiquette. He's all about the joy of the process. He'd be a good songwriter too. Because sometimes when I think about songs, I mostly want to finish them, even though really the most fun part is the writing itself.
Another reason why thinking about songwriting is so bad and distracting. Better far to write than to think about writing.
It's "Fun with the Scanner" time!
Here's mom, about the time she graduated from Centenary and was married.
Suicide's Note
The calm,
Cool face of the river
Asked me for a kiss.
Langston Hughes
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