Thanks For the Smile :)
- February 2018
- Hi Steph
Not sure you’ll like this one, but I saved one copy of your book from oblivion and pulping at a dollar store here in Metro Detroit.
Honestly, was tired and fed up, had to bury a cat, Mom had been gone for months in various medical facilities, and I figured it was a bunch of hippie bullshit.
Some ways, it was. Bought it anyhow. Stubborn like that.
At the time, needed books to sleep; a callback to my childhood. Weren’t a fun one.
Happy that it made me smile and think back to climbing at The Colony in Oregon…pissed off my ex’s Dad, I assume.
Went up to the top anchor with her old gear. Damn, was that satisfying.
Not to upshow him or impress her – I just thought I had the ability, wanted to see for myself.
Did a shit job getting lowered/repelling… but the *climb*…all me.
Can’t do it now, don’t think – same job that paid for the plane tickets finally ruined my rotator cuffs (took two years for the pain to settle down), and my knees were shot in grade school.
Hurt all the way up.
Anyway, Mom is home, Ma’at (Misty) is buried behind Mom’s rhododendron, and it makes me damned giggly to give her your onion-cutter book.
She has one good eye with glasses, hoping she’s drawn in enough to try or ask me to read the book to her.
Thanks for letting me enjoy beautiful places and brief memories.
…Fucking arm hurts just to move.
Keep writing; maybe next time I can pay full price for a hard back, instead. <3 Mostly, at a remarkably rough time...thanks for making me unexpectedly *smile*. Be well, and lay off the damn free climbing. Give the cat scratchies for me. Ours hid in the microwave hutch at first, paw flailing out at me as I went by...years later, she was sleeping on me. Go figure. Jason
Hi Jason,
I’m sorry to hear about Misty–it sounds like Mao would have liked her 😉
I hope your mom liked the book too….I also hope you are having some more smiles now. Thanks for writing to me, and all the best to you Jason,
Steph and Mao
