OBSERVANCES

Somewhere over Mount Vesuvius a lone cloud is floating. I watch from beside my tent as it passes. The rain lasted here only two days. My food supply is fleeting. I am returning home tomorrow.

 

Can you believe it? There are no scratches, bruises, medical contusions. I have returned unblemished.

 

My wife is preparing steak on the grill. She says I should relax and let her take care of me. I oblige gratefully, my feet propped on a hassock.

 

Today I think I am going blind.

 

On the television a news program is running. The anchor is dressed in white, her hair is white, her face is in white, like a mime. She is not speaking. She is miming the news as I watch in disbelief. Or do I believe.

 

In Laramie, Wyoming, a rancher decides he will take a matter into his own hands. He does and gets away with it in marvelous fashion. No one objects. I secretly wish I were him.

 

The garbage has been delivered to the street in a large black container the width of a clothes washer and the height of a chest of drawers. The time is 6:37. The men in dirty garb will be here any minute. I will watch from the window and record their every move. Stay with me?

© 2023 Jeffrey S. Callico