I don't blame the borscht for my sleepless night. I was already feeling the familiar sense of impending doom way before dinner. It was a feeling much like that felt by victims of lightning strikes just before the psychedelic brain waves. I haven't made a study of lightning strick victims but I've heard that such a feeling is common and I have no doubt that it's true.
"Something wrong?" asked the Wonder when I entered the boudoir amidst a tidal wave of cats.
"You need to ask, do you?"
"Qigong exam?" she said.
"No, not that," I said, "it's something that Amy Normal was talking about yesterday in Native Grounds. Vampire cats."
"Is that the band that covered that old Bob Dylan song? What is it, rainy day something?"
"No, not a musical group; actual furry cats but living an alternative lifestyle of vampires. Vampire cats! And what she said about them gave me quite a start."
"I wouldn't worry about it," she said. "Amy has a rich, varied, and vivid imagination."
"When you say Amy, are referring to Amy Normal, Native Grounds barista and backup mistress of the greater Durham night, or do you mean the little princess that lives in my head?"
"I'm certain of it," she said, leaving me to guess the answer to my question. "Still, even though we know it's only an Amy thing, it couldn't have been pleasant for you to hear it. Poor baby."
I didn't like that last part--the bit about the baby but I let it go because this Wonder is a master of diversion and subterfuge.
"Oh, I took it in stride," I said, which wasn't exactly the case but one doesn't like to look weak when discussing life's slings and arrows with these Helen of Troy types.
"Wore the coat loosely?" she said.
"Like Peter Rabbit," I said.
"You made your escape?"
"A strategic retreat," I said, "following the example set by Napoleon."
"Ah," she said, "perfect analogy. You refer to Napoleon leaving Moscow."
"How do you mean?" I said, not getting the drift.
"Well," she said. "he had to steal a sleigh, commandeer a team of horses, and then hightail it through the snow-covered countryside in the dark of night with the Russian cavalry on his trail. He couldn't have enjoyed that either, now could he?"
"No, I suppose not," I said wondering where she was going with the Russian motif.
Ms Wonder often speaks the soothing word in season and by the time she finished the history lesson, I was feeling much better.
"Wore the coat loosely?" she said.
"Like Peter Rabbit," I said.
"You made your escape?"
"A strategic retreat," I said, "following the example set by Napoleon."
"Ah," she said, "perfect analogy. You refer to Napoleon leaving Moscow."
"How do you mean?" I said, not getting the drift.
"Well," she said. "he had to steal a sleigh, commandeer a team of horses, and then hightail it through the snow-covered countryside in the dark of night with the Russian cavalry on his trail. He couldn't have enjoyed that either, now could he?"
"No, I suppose not," I said wondering where she was going with the Russian motif.
Ms Wonder often speaks the soothing word in season and by the time she finished the history lesson, I was feeling much better.
Leaving the stable in the company of Wynd Spirt and Quinn, I was singing along with the Andrews Sisters to their signature song, 'Hold Tight.' Princess Amy doesn't have a chance of keeping the mood in the lower registers when singing a song, which is amazingly subtitled, 'Want Some Seafood, Momma?'
Little wonder that all things seemed to be coming up roses.
As I listened to the tunes, I felt an intense pang of joy but, with a little investigation, determined that it was only hypomania and no need to redecorate the house or change the wardrobe.
As I listened to the tunes, I felt an intense pang of joy but, with a little investigation, determined that it was only hypomania and no need to redecorate the house or change the wardrobe.
By the time I entered Native Grounds, the blue bird was perched on my shoulder singing, if I remember correctly, an old Italian folk song.
It's at times like these that I pity the people who don't want to ride a wild wind or to dance with the devil on a Saturday night. All they want is a careful garden that blossoms and withers according to season. But I'm not included in their number.
It's at times like these that I pity the people who don't want to ride a wild wind or to dance with the devil on a Saturday night. All they want is a careful garden that blossoms and withers according to season. But I'm not included in their number.
No, the Genome is bent in a different direction. I like the storms that sweep away the everyday and get something new started. Makes me feel in touch with something greater than myself. Sooner or later, no matter how chaotic the present moment, Reason will return to her throne and all will be right with the world again.
Sometimes the best thing one can do is hold tight and wait for the gale to peter out.
Sometimes the best thing one can do is hold tight and wait for the gale to peter out.
Now I know what you're thinking. What's all this got to do with vampire cats? Nothing. But what's it matter? The point is that we can never know where life is headed and we aren't in control of outcomes. Instead of fretting about; better to let be what will be. Que sera sera and all that.