Hail, Mud and Reconnecting with 'Da Moose'

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It's been an eventful week out here. Today we saw downpours, hail and the rebirth of serious mud. So much for our big trip into town planned for today. So much for my chance at going to a huge flea market on Saturday. My little Zen drainage ditches were overwhelmed by the volume of water running off from everything and everywhere until the clouds thinned out and lost their bluster. Now just the mud remains to be dealt with and we are hoping for a beaming sun and wind to dry the roads for a revised Monday outing target. The hail has melted away by now but it lingered ever so long and Brou and I just had to sample it all. Oddly enough, the hail appeared to be pea-sized half spheres of ice still nestled around the pales on the porch. Why would they be shaped as half-spheres, I wondered? But they tasted fresh and pure and we helped ourselves, Brou snarfing big mouthful servings and I taking but one morsel at a time. Our large tubs standing at every roof run-off point had long since overflowed with clear water. My new garden beddings had been pounded badly by the torrents of rain and hail but the plants had remained stubbornly rooted into their new home ground. All in all, we fared well today.

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And the highlight of the week was a chance reconnection with two old friends last seen over 35 years ago. It took the Caribbean wanderings of a nephew I barely know and a stranger wandering into the same lounge and performing a bare handed drum solo on a table to cause them to connect. Then it took another relative to pass on this bit of nearly lost grapevine news. I was then able to reconnect with that finger drumming stranger by e-mail and he reconnected me with yet another old friend who we both knew from separate timelines. The latter friend shall simply be called 'Alphonse' after his trademark joke about 'Alphonse da Moose, a weary hunting guide and 'Monsieur Le Hunter'. Whenever he would walk into the room, there would be calls for recitation of his story, "Tell them about Alphonse, they haven't heard it yet!" And we would all settle in for the story with great anticipation. It hadn't mattered that we might have heard the long tale a half dozen times before; we would still follow the story with great amusement, waiting for the operatic calls of Alphonse and then watch the newcomers fall into fits of laughter as the punch line slammed home.

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I was probably one of the first graphics people to consider using vinyl as a medium for lettering although it is a standard in the sign industry now. I carefully close-cut the material and added additional painted detail if necessary. By the time I was done, I had outfitted a surprising number of local stock car racers with vinyl lettering. And, when Alphonse asked for a helmet graphic, I couldn't help but oblige, given all the joy that Alphonse had given us with his infamous story. Much to my great surprise, he now announced that his helmet is still with him and due to become an heirloom for a notable line of drag racers. It nearly always proves to be a great joy to reconnect with old friends who got lost in our rush to conquer life. Alphonse, I am delighted beyond description this week ... thanks!

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My next posting: Most likely about how 'Pilgrim' rescues Slim ... again.