Parachute Man

[gurdonark]

I rather like those dime store plastic parachute guys, who may be thrown far into the air, so that they may parachute down. Like so many diversions, they are the diversion which may occupy only a moment, but how much of childhood was a kind of endless parade of more or less eternal moments?



Today my mistaken eBay strategy of posting 10 copies of my booklet at once resulted in 2 copies nonetheless selling. It's funny how the approaching end of Summer, and the promise of the holidays, brings people back to eBay auctions.
I've been writing poetry today, which has been great fun.

I got something mailed off today which has been weeks overdue in mailing, and it's amazing how much stress relief doing something long overdue can bring. It's like the undone task is grist, making some dark black pearl, but the pearl evaporates once the grist is removed.

This morning I arrived home after 2 in the morning, as the Phoenix folks determined that it was somehow okay to disembark us to make us all go through security checkpoints, in a blur of people and impossible lines, then cause our flights to take off without those of us who had not made it through security first. It's a funny thing, though. I got upgraded to First Class only because I apparently have now burdened America West with too much of my time, much as a suitor who is not truly loved sometimes gets a date to something important as a reward for dependability. I did not expect the upgrade, but once I had it, I felt shabbily treated when my replacement flight placed me in 15E, squeezed in like a smoked tuna in a tin in a holiday basket.

I'd rather be floating in free space, like a parachute man.
But I wish I did not build expectations in the space of one day. Expectations can be such a bar to simply enjoying life.

A plume of water began to come out from behind a lavatory fitting today in our home, making me spread towels while we wait for the plumber. We've had very little trouble with this home since we bought it, but home ownership has its maintenance hassles to go with its freedom of living.

I have not had good luck in getting a call back from the local hotel room rental rep. Now my fantasy is to choose a nearby rural hamlet, and improbably have a chess tournament there. The Kazoo Open, I've decided to call it. First prize? A metal kazoo. Second prize? A wooden kazoo. Third prize? A plastic kazoo.

We'll see. Right now my imagination is floating, like a parachute guy. I finished "Possession" and made a good dent in Franzen's "The Corrections", assuming I am not mispelling either title or author. I always thought it a bit unfortunate to look an Oprah gift horse in the mouth, but I'm just one of the hoi polloi, I guess. I mean to write a post about being of the hoi polloi, now that I am back where I belong, in row 15 E.

It's been far too long since I found the time to just be and do what I enjoy doing. Today is that time.

Comments

[marstokyo.livejournal.com]

Have you ever wanted to REALLY parachute? oddly enough, I have.
Roller coaster? never! Bungee jumping? never! I'm terrified of heights. And yet something in me would secretly like to skydive--just once.

[gurdonark.livejournal.com]

I am much like you. I'll do a roller coaster, but never a sky dive nor an ultra light plane. But when I see someone hang diving in mid-air by cliffs in New Mexico, or flying a Delta wing plane, or floating down by parachute on television, then I secretly want to be right there.

[skygoodwill.livejournal.com]

[gurdonark.livejournal.com]

Great photo! thanks for sharing it. I am not sure if all my time is for enjoyment, but this quiet Saturday seems to be! :)

endless childhood

[whipporwill.livejournal.com]

I loved the Maple seed whirligigs coming down, sucking the sweet out of plucked Catalpa blossoms, pretending hollyhock blossoms were ballerinas, "popping" lavender hosta blossoms high on their stalk before they open, braiding dandelion or clover blossom chains... watching ants do ant things, not stepping on cracks soas to keep Mother's back intact, not stepping on holes soas to keep the sugar bowl in one piece....

Re: endless childhood

[gurdonark.livejournal.com]

Maple seed whirligigs. I haven't seen them in years.
I remember honeysuckle better than catalpa blossoms, though I do remember catalpa worms. Thanks for sharing these memories and the picture!

[kayre]

I played with nature's version of the parachute man toy today-- milkweed seeds. I picked an entire just-popped pod and distributed them all along the riverbank. It's fun to see how each one pulls the next out of the pod, and then pops open to sail away.

[poetbear.livejournal.com]

... how much of childhood was a kind of endless parade of more or less eternal moments?
most of what i remember was like that.
waiting in line with friends to go into the Saturday movie(complete
with 2 cartoons, newsreel, previews and serial!), "watching ants do
ant things"(one of my favorites, too!), wading in forbidden
irrigations ditches(cut a toe almost to the bone in there one day--
our neighbor--from about a quarter-mile away just grabbed a yellow
towel, washed my foot off under the hydrant in the yard, and took
me back to my house in her car with it wrapped up tightly.),crawl-
ing under, over and climbing onto and into trees, and on and on--
~~~~~~~~~~<)))))><~~~~~~~~~~~paul

[gregwest98.livejournal.com]

I've started selling some stuff on ebay and I have yet to learn the hang of it. But luckily, I've sold all three tools I put up for sale. Each got one bid - the winning one obviously.

My goal was not so much to make money as to get rid of something I don't use and put it into the hands of someone who would use it and not simply throw it away.

But nobody has bid on my little miniature vise yet.

Good idea on the plumber thing - for all the things I like to do around the house, plumbing is something I shy away from. The precise control of water is best left to professionals.

But the bad news is that once a house is a few years old, this crap happens more and more until it's something all the time. Luckily, the somethings are usually minor. Major things happen about once every seven years.

[gurdonark.livejournal.com]

I am very good at eBaying books. It took me a long while to figure out what sells and how to do it, but I have it down. Sometimes with non-book items, I'm surprised at what will sell and what will not. I have always thought it might be fun to do eBay in a big way, but I've not tried that in years, since I acquired some remaindered chess books in a flush of enthusiasm about how easy they were to sell. A miniature vise should have sold! I'm surprised it didn't.

The plumber took, like thirty seconds to fix the problem, but I still think it was money well spent.
Our home is only 2 years old, so we've missed out on major repairs, but they are part of home ownership, aren't they? In so many ways renting is easier, and yet I love the "nobody can hassle me" aspect of home ownership.