Keep the Coffee Comimg

This morning is chilly, 66°. It is cloudy, but the sun is trying to break through, unsuccessfully so far. We have a wind, maybe a portent of the hurricane to come. Lee will hit us tonight and bring winds up to 60 mph. It will also bring heavy rain. I have a uke concert today, and I need a few of life’s essentials, think coffee and eggs, at the grocery store. After that I’ll hunker down.

The other day I stopped my car to let a turkey family cross the road. The mother and father were herding their four babies. When one baby lagged, one of its parents moved it along to the field and woods on the other side of the road. I hadn’t seen babies before. They were about as cute as turkeys get.

When I was a kid, and we were on a ride, I remember seeing a couple of deer in a field. We all shouted in excitement so my dad stopped to let us watch. Seeing a deer was rare. Around my house, we did see spawns of Satan, grey spawns, and maybe a raccoon or a skunk. The skunk waddled. The raccoon scudded as if it were sneaking something and needed a quick exit.

No one is allowed to pass my house. Henry barks, loud, incessant barks. It doesn’t matter if the door is closed. He hears or senses the interlopers. Nala does not bark at the door though she does bark at me when I don’t do her bidding. Henry has a deep, scary bark but Nala’s is not so much scary as shrilly.

I watched The Screaming Skull last night. At the beginning of the movie there is a warning about the horrific ending. A casket is the only thing on the screen during the warning. The disembodied voice said the producers of the movie were offering free burial to anyone who died of fright. The last scene before the movie started was of the inside of the casket with a note which said, “This is for you.”

The sun is getting brighter. The morning is cool but that won’t last as it could get into the high 70’s. Everything is wet from the on and off again rain of the last few days. We’re still keeping on eye on Lee. The forecast is for a nor’easter on Saturday, but already the air direction is changing. The morning air is coming through my north facing window. People have started hunkering down. Boats are being taken out of the water. I’m guessing the grocery stores will be filled with harried shoppers. I only need coffee. I ground the last of it yesterday. Coffee is essential.

On my dance card today is the farmer’s market uke concert. I’ll get there early and buy my scones, some native tomatoes and whatever else catches my eye. Last market it was some chocolate chunk candy. I only bought one, a mistake, as it was delicious, even better than a Snickers, a blasphemy.

When I was a kid, my least favorite subject was arithmetic. I remember learning the times tables. I liked only the ones, fives and tens, the easy ones. The nuns kept watch during arithmetic class so I used to hide my fingers under my desk so I could use them for counting. We didn’t have art or music every day, only the basic subjects. I loved reading. Sometimes I’d even hide my book from home inside one of my text books so I could read during class. I never did get caught. My technique was to raise my hand and answer a question or two so it seemed as if I were paying attention.

We always played in the streets. We rode our bikes and roller-skated. We drew hop scotch boxes on the middle of the road. We played Red Light-Green Light, Hide and Seek, Simon Says, regular Tag and Freeze Tag. Not many cars went up or down the street. Most families had only one car, and it was gone all day, driven to work by our dads. We were inside by the time most dads arrived home from work.

I am not a tea drinker, except iced tea. When I was a kid, my mother gave me hot tea when I was sick so I associate tea with being sick. She gave us flat ginger ale and dry toast if our stomachs were upset. They were a mother’s panacea.

I’m watching Snowbeast. It has already done in one skier. Her bloody jacket was found but, no one believes in the creature. It is about to eat victim number two. It roars a lot but no one pays it heed. I guess guileless people are a necessity.