Beginnings (Not)
On Sunday we usually do beginnings, taking a look at the start of a Peter Abrahams novel, including those written under the Spencer Quinn moniker. But today – something a little different. For the reading part of the events on the virtual tour for Of Mutts And Men, we’ve been throwing caution to the winds (what with life otherwise so cautious for so many these days) and opening the book at random! Here’s where we ended up last night at our fun visit to Book Carnival in Orange County, one of our faves.
We came to the street with all the self-storage places, one big garage-like building after another, all of them with many doors. Bernie parked in front of our door, pressed a button on his phone. The door slid up. Humans have lots of tricks like that. Does it make things more fun for them? I took a glance at him. He didn’t seem to be having fun. We went inside and did something we hadn’t done in a long time, namely check out our Hawaiian pants.
Racks of hanging Hawaiian pants. Shelves of folded Hawaiian pants. Boxes of boxed-up Hawaiian pants, stacked floor to ceiling. A beam of light came through a small high-up side window, a light beam full of swirling dust. We walked to the back where a stool stood against the wall, a single pair of Hawaiian pants draped on top, the legs slumping down to the floor. Bernie picked them up and held them against his body, like he was thinking of trying them on. Try them on, Bernie, try them on! They’ll look great!
But he did not. Instead he folded them very carefully and was about to put them back when he noticed an open pack of cigarettes lying on the stool.
“Hey,” he said, the first word he’d spoken in some time. Moments later, he was sitting on the stool, lighting up, taking that first drag, letting it out with a long, slow breath. “Pot of gold,” he said. Someone else had said that very thing and not long ago. I came very close to remembering who. Chet the Jet, on fire! Or at least heating up. Smoke rose into the light beam and mixed with the dust motes up in the golden air. There’s all kinds of beauty in life.
Bernie took another drag. “There’s what you can control and what you can’t,” he said. “Which everybody knows. There’s also what you think you can control but can’t, which some people know. But what about the things you think you can’t control but actually can? See where I’m heading with this?”
At first I did not but then from out of nowhere it came to me. We were going to burn our self-storage to the ground, let all the Hawaiian pants go up in smoke! Wow! What a brilliant idea! I did a fast trot to the door and back, just letting Bernie know I totally on board.
Tags: Book Carnival, Hawaiian pants, Of Mutts and Men, virtual tour
This entry was posted on Sunday, July 12th, 2020 at 8:34 am and is filed under Chet The Dog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
9:40 am on July 12th, 2020
Greetings!
I am laughing out loud at the last paragraph!
Staff: Nice hat!
Good day to all!
10:04 am on July 12th, 2020
I agree with Chet.
Good morning all.
3:47 pm on July 12th, 2020
Good afternoon everyone!
Mom did a dramatic reading of today’s post rolling down the road to the DDD. He actually smiled and chuckled. He loves the Hawaiian pants and if mom ever finds she’s getting them for him.
Still looking for two things one is a bookstore to get out of Madison men and secondly is how to get on the stinking virtual book tour.
5:58 pm on July 12th, 2020
HOH: google “Hawaiian pants for men.” There are surprisingly choices to buy from various places.
Lazy day today. I had volunteered for two days at a yard sale benefiting my cat rescue. Almost everyone was wearing a mask (Anchorage numbers climb a bit everyday) and it was outside. We raised just shy of $2,000. It is amazing what people will buy.
I have mislaid my mailbox key so I don’t know if my book has arrived or not. I also don’t know if I am strong enough to read a certain section right now. Yeep.
My morning ablutions were taking so long today because I was being lazy. Mr. Big actually came up and nipped me to move me along to the food dish. I understood but still gave him a wee swat on his felonious feline butt.
Speaking of Wee…in a recent Snowhook video, Wee Nigel looks a little chunky. Is that possible? Has he gained the Quarantine Ten like humans have?
9:25 pm on July 12th, 2020
I don’t know if I have mentioned it but Mr.Fireslippers has a pair of Hawaiian pajama pants. They are blue with white palm trees. They ride sort of low.
9:26 pm on July 12th, 2020
Staff is laughing and laughing.
9:29 pm on July 12th, 2020
No dear ones. I have NOT taken up beekeeping. I am just trying to weed the garden occasionally without being sucked dry by mosquitoes. We have been having what farm people call “timely rains”
Mosquitoes love timely rains.
9:48 pm on July 12th, 2020
Mom will try to make the Murder by the Book virtual reading but is not sure. She has to take one of my kitty sisters to the animal hospital tomorrow afternoon and there is a good chance kitty sis won’t be coming home. She has been very sick for over a year now and all treatments have failed. My oldest kitty sis crossed the rainbow bridge on July 5th. She passed on her own while mom was holding her. July hasn’t been the best month.
10:06 pm on July 12th, 2020
Oh Boo Bear. I am so sorry to hear about your very sick kitty and loss of your oldest kitty. Thank you for being a loving mom to them. Purrs and pets from all the gang.
11:14 pm on July 12th, 2020
BStover an anarchist!? Or maybe just an arsonist.
BooBear: Sorry to hear about your kitty sisters. So hard saying goodbye. Sending love to you and your mum.
Staff: Re: Jim’s pants. Lol! Re: Mosquito hat. I want!
7:37 am on July 27th, 2020
Always wanted one of these so took benefit
of the particular provide, planted a few weeks in the past and its looking great a lot so ive made room for
one more on the other facet of my backyard and just ordered another.
I once noticed one in a dark living room in Sussex that was so drawn out, it took me a while earlier
than I recognized what it was. So take the time to search out which cooler you need so that you will
be as lazy as could be whereas it is still warm outside.
Palm tree seeds could also be found hardly ever in a bird nest, which might be obtained randomly while Woodcutting or
from Managing Miscellania. The plates are made from the Palm tree.
Cold hardy palm trees are a beneficial landscape tree in cold areas where a tropical look,
around swimming pools and patios are helpful. The effective textured fronds make the palm
stand out from different plants within the landscape.