December 26, 2008

• Snippets

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  These are snippets and slices of memories.  They all happened on different time and are too small individually for an entry but too big for a pulse.   So I just tossed them all together here.

  1)  I was trudging along the sidewalk on a snowy gray afternoon.  An elderly lady was walking her dog was just ahead of me. I slowly overtook them as the small dog sniffed and peed on a snow bank.  As I slipped past them, I heard her quietly say “Oh Fi Fi, you have snow on your pee pee.”  I discreetly glanced back.  She had just picked up the dog and was gently brushing away the snow between the dog’s legs.  I quickly turned around  to allow Fi Fi to salvage its dignity. 

  2)  Dad is opening his Christmas gifts.  It’s a large gift wrapped book and he was slowly tearing off the paper.  With each reveal, he would say things like “Oh, this is lovely.  This is great.  I really like it.”  When all the wrapping was finally off, he looked at the book and said “What is it?”  My brother and I did everything we could to stifle our laughter. 

  3)  I’m in a dimly lit pub in Amsterdam many years ago writing postcards, checking out my guidebook and nursing a drink.  It’s early afternoon and there some guys are at the bar near my table.  I continue to write while they chat softly.  One of them calls out to me and asks me where I’m from.  I tell him I’m from Canada.  He waves me over and introduces his friends.  It’s mostly small talk – what I’ve seen, his recommendations etc…  he waves the bartender over and I order another drink.  He asks me if I have a girlfriend.  I said “No.”  “No? Why?”  I can’t remember what I said.  But he looks at me and asks me to come a bit closer.  I lean forward out of the shadows into the dim overhead  light.  He looks at me and says “Well, you’re not ugly.”  I pause for a second and we both laugh.   We chat a bit more and he eventually leaves.  We nod and exchange polite goodbyes.  I finish up my postcards and journal and pack everything away into my knapsack.  I get out some money for the bartender.  He waves me away and said the other guy had paid for my tab.  I smile and hope that the rest of my trip will be like this. 

  4)  We arrived home last night from another big Christmas dinner.  Dad was already asleep in the car – his tummy full of turkey, stuffing, mash potatoes, yams, cheese, crackers and some wine.  He stumbles into the living room and turn on the TV.  I go into the kitchen and clean up some of the dishes that are in the sink.  I go out and check on him.  He’s snoring on the couch already.  I grab a throw from his bedroom and carefully drape it over him.  He wakes up and I quietly tell him that I’m just covering him up.  He closes his eyes and drifts off again.  I stood there and remembered a childhood scene.  Every night, he would make a check on us every night and adjust our blankets to make sure we were tucked in.  I was always a light sleeper and would wake up when I heard him coming in.  It was always comforting and I never had any trouble drifting off to sleep again.  
  

   

  • 11:56 PM
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