Friday
July 18, 2014
Smart Bears, Angry Rats
Bonds 75 Years from
now
Gretchen stared at the blank iWall screen. "We're
engaged!" she said to nobody. "I am so happy! Finally!" She fell onto her couch, hugged a pillow, and
said again, "finally."
Gretchen sat for a long time, relieved, happy, and
eager to share her news. She called her
mother, Olsen's mother, and Ubutu's wife. When all three were connected to the iWall, they
talked about weddings, dresses, rings, houses, plans, marriage, and life. The conversation wound its way around pools
of tears and through fields of laughter.
Gretchen told the older women they were like sisters to her, and she
hoped this wedding would bring them all even closer.
"Who called you?" Ubutu asked in the
elevator, as the rode up to the lab to get a hair sample from Sammy.
"Gretchen," Olsen said. "She proposed and I accepted."
"Congratulations!" Ubutu said, the heaviness
in his heart momentarily lifted. "I am glad she stopped waiting for you to
propose, my cowardly friend! Imagine, a
decorated veteran of the Polar Wars, afraid to get married." Ubutu hugged Olsen.
Olsen, smiled and said, "I wasn't afraid. I was just being cautious." Both men felt a bond they were unlikely to
ever discuss.
Today
I will be grateful for my bonds with loved ones, whether they're discussed or
unspoken.
Smart Bears, Angry Rats (c) 2014 by Ken Montrose
g-NAts
For
you
The next day Hoodie got to group early. He was carrying a fluorescent pink sweatshirt
with "Boozeless Biddies
Bowling" on the front, and "We
may be old, but our minds are still in the gutter…" on the back.
"I'm guessing you got that for Violet," I
said, stating the obvious.
"It's that kind of insight that makes you a good
therapist," he said, laughing.
"I was just going to get her a box of chocolates as a going away
present, but I really wanted to surprise her."
"Did you come up with the saying on the
back?" I asked.
"I did.
I'm not a real creative person. It took me a long time."
"I'm sure she'll appreciate the effort."
"I'm sure she will, too," Hoodie said with a
smile. "I'll be OK even if she's
not grateful, you know? I wanted to do
this, no matter how Violet reacted. Does
that make sense?"
"It does," I said, "maybe because I
have such keen insight."
Violet loved the sweatshirt.
Today I will do something nice for someone
regardless of how I think they'll react.
g-NAts (c) 2013 by Ken Montrose
Freebies
This week's freebie is the Kindle version of Forgiveness in Recovery, available at
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