I know I mentioned that we were going to try to move this blog away from my personal life, but as hard as I try, I can't seem to move myself away from my personal life; which, at present, is all consuming, so I guess we're all stuck with it this way until further notice.
Last Thursday, my aunt B and her son C came all the way from Baltimore to join us at the opening show unveiling my first big mixed media piece (for public sale).
When they decided to make the trip, the details seemed to be completely in our favor, save only C's jet lag from having arrived just days before from his home in Amsterdam.
There were clear skies and dry roads that Thursday and we'd expected some precipitation around the show and weekend and then a clear window to return all together for C's b'day celebration back in Baltimore.
I made Coq au Vin for their first night's supper, and some friends joined in, so we were off to a grand start.
In the morning, as we were all discussing the day and what to do with it, I received an email that the show was postponed until Monday night. Ice storms were expected as a result of the wildly vacillating temperatures and Vermont believed it was going to get demolished like those poor towns to the west of us had earlier last week.
Further, this cancellation was unprecedented. Never in anyone's memory, had a downtown art show been canceled or postponed on account of the weather. And not just the weather we were having - but the weather we were expecting. And not even a blizzard. Never before; just the one I had people drive up from Baltimore to see.
Irony: The night turned out to be mostly dry and unseasonably warm, with some melting, but not so much icing; a great night for strolling the streets of downtown Burlington except that stuff was closed.
That day and most of the next was spent idly sitting around killing time until the show - or so I thought until my aunt suddenly started fretting about the weather that could occur on our return trip. Suddenly, late on Saturday afternoon, she began making noises about leaving in the morning.
"The morning?!" I thought. "But that's tomorrow!"
Sure enough, that Sunday expected reasonably dry conditions while Tuesday morning called for a "light wintery mix."
As I was beginning to comprehend all that their leaving on Sunday meant, my little cat started acting funny. She was observed several times scratching on a vinyl chair in my living room, as if she were trying to pee there, but on closer examination there was none to be found. She was also going in and out of the litter box much more frequently than usual, and we decided she might have a painful bladder infection.
Of course it was too late to take her to the regular vet, and it was Saturday anyway, so an emergency visit was arranged.
Three hours and $200 some dollars later (graciously paid for by B) we finally got to have a quick dinner at my favorite cheap Vietnamese and off B sped to her B&B (!) to return early to pick up C and say goodbye before heading back. By leaving on Sunday, not only were they going to miss the show, but my daughter and I were now left to get down to Baltimore by alternate means.
Sunday was as grim as you could imagine. I felt so badly that they'd come so far for nothing - not even able to see the piece because it was locked in the gallery which was closed. I would not be consoled.
How could this happen? Everything was working so well.
I wonder some times if we earthlings aren't a reality TV show for extraterrestrials like in that Southpark episode. Put all these life forms together, add some aggressively intelligent apes and sit back to watch the fun explode!
My daughter and I are headed down by train in the a.m. It takes over 12 hours, but I don't mind. I've already been in a train derailment once so I figure I've gotten my train disaster out of the way - but with me, you never know. Seriously, I've been in a roller coaster accident; a tractor accident (where the tractor rolled down a mountain with me and my father on it); several car accidents (one in which my father lost two teeth in my head); I've cracked my head open 5 times and had 2 concussions; I've caught myself on fire once, and put a kitchen fire out while continuing to nurse a baby.
There're a few obvious disasters left, mind you, and I am keenly aware of them. Planes (understandably) scare the bejeezus out of me. I am a cautious skier. I don't tail gate. I try, to the best of my ability to stay under the radar of the impish gods that plague the likes of me - but sometimes I have to wonder if I'm one of their favorites.
XXKHT
"As if you could kill time without injuring eternity." ~ H.D. Thoreau
Libra (9/23-10/22)
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