The Visit

The house was in a dark place. Surrounded by a bevy of Pine trees along the fence. Oleander bushes strategically placed as well. Constructed of wood and stucco, nothing about the house stood out. The front door was recessed about 3 feet and not lighted. In the center, about nose high for a short guy of 5' 7", a small rectangular opening, fitted with a slider, was the only remarkable feature of an otherwise unremarkable entrance. Windows were not featured on either side of the door.

The man stood directly in front of the slider. It sure is dark here. He pulled a small slip of paper from an inside coat pocket. It was given to him by his contact at the coffee shop a few miles away. From his left pants pocket he pulled out his Zippo. Striking it to life he examined the address on the slip of paper by the yellowish glow of the flame. This is the house. The man replaced the items into their respective pockets.

Taking a deep breath the man raised his right hand to the door and rapped 3 evenly timed raps and waited. The contact said not to be impatient. The occupant of the house would be checking surveillance systems. Give the house time. After a sweat filled time of in determent length the slider slid aside to reveal a set of steely brown eyes below heavy bushy brows and a whitish glow of incandescent lighting. The man outside the door took in a quick raspy breath.

The man, rattled, almost forgot what to do next. What was it? O yes, "Harry made me an appointment."

"Harry who?"

"Harry Hand"

The slider closed. The man was left in darkness again. Soon a lock was released on the house side of the door. The door opened wide. "Quickly enter now."

The man quickly entered. The door closed. The medical exam could now be done away from the prying eyes of the government health care system.

The Bug, The Spider, and The Walk

When I was diagnosed with pre-Diabetes, that is, a condition of Diabetes that can be totally controlled by a lifestyle change, I was given a choice of taking insulin via needles, tablets (a long shot for some reason), or lose as much weight as possible and change eating habits. Well, I chose the latter. I just love walking.

So, I chose a route near home of a 1 mile duration that involved lots of inclines for long distances and short runs of flats to rest. Putting together a routine where the walks could be done 3 times daily I managed to rid myself of over 50 pounds and the dreaded needle. Yep, good for me.

It took about 40 minutes to do the full 2 mile cycle so that gave plenty of time for thinking. How to do my business, which was not driving a truck at the time. How to care for different family needs, which were plenty at the time. How best to stay solvent, which I have yet to accomplish to this day.

One day, as I was deep in thought, I almost stepped on a pill bug. I noticed that this bug was having a hard time deciding whether I was a safety hazard or something that it could ignore and go about it's business. In other words, it hesitated. Apparently this bug was going to cross the sidewalk to get to the curb for whatever it's bug business had to be. The vibration of my footsteps caused it to stop and ponder.

Unbeknownst to either the pill bug or myself a far greater danger lurked in the shadows of the grass and small rocks and litter along the sidewalk on the side away from the roadway. A far greater danger to the pill bug than to yours truly I assure you. A danger in which the pill bug, I'm certain, would not have hesitated at my footfalls.

Out of the dark shadows sprang a form quick as lightning, fearless as a lion. Seeing that an opportunity for lunch had appeared and not fearing the footfalls of the giant just inches away from the pill bug, a very opportunistic spider grabbed his lunch, the hapless and timid pill bug. I swear to you that spider gave me one look as if to say, "this is my lunch buddy, you don't scare me, now back off!"

I stood there, amazed at what just took place before me. I felt bad for the pill bug but at the same time, I was jubilant at how the fearless spider ignored all the circumstances and took advantage of the situation. It was inspirational.

You may ask in what way could this episode be inspirational. Let me explain. How many times in life have you hesitated to do something. I know I am still affected by indecision. I have acted like a pill bug way to many times. Hesitation has caused me to lose money. Lots of money. Missed opportunities can never be gotten back. Would it not be better to live life like a spider? Strike when the opportunity is there. Strike when all odds may seem against you. I done a little of that. And I like it. Heck, I even made a few bucks. Just wish the Washington DC crowd would be grabbed by a spider or two.





(pill bug, sidewalk, spider photos from internet searches)
(photo of swamp by author)