The Snake, the Wren Family, and Liberty Gold

Have I ever told you about my friend Liberty Gold? We met in high school, a million years ago, and I was in awe of her from the first moment.

Liberty, even at 15ish, had serious magic, and even back then, I knew it. She could create a piece of art from nothing, draw a portrait of you better than a Polaroid, and nurse a piece of nature back to life from the brink of death. All at the same time. She still can.

A couple of weeks ago, we had a string of terrible storms.

Liberty Gold lives in the branch of Eden located down on River Road. Her neighbors, the Wren family, had been hit hard by the storms, as did many of the inhabitants of River Road Eden.

Discussing the storms, Liberty casually mentions the Wren family. "The parents rounded up 3 survivors and led them off into the woods. I hope they find a nice place to stay till they can fly."

"How many baby Wrens where there before the storm?" I ask. "That's an epic tale of survival and love."

"I'm not sure, I thought 4 but it could have been 5. That snake had a mighty big bulge." Liberty answers.

"OH MY GOD!" I shriek like only an urban princess can, "There was a snake? Fine, now I have to hear the whole story."

"OK, here it is.", Liberty begins, "There was a terrible screeching of Wrens outside the door last evening, after the storms and the hail and the flooding. The parent Wrens were yelling and fluttering about in a mad frenzy. I know not if the babies were screaming as well, it was difficult to hear anything above the din."

"I ran out to see what was the matter and to my amazement, there... wound up around the nest, engulfing it completely, even as to enclose the only opening that would allow escape of the poor doomed chicks within... was a rather large rat snake, it's body writhing as it constricted the once safe and loved home of my little house Wren family."

"Without thinking of my own safety", Liberty grins at me, "I snatched up the snake in one hand as I tried to catch the fleeing babies as they tumbled from the nest in horror. The snake, (dastardly fiend), had a rather largish bulge in it's midsection... too late for that one i thought, as i carried the wicked marauder of to an undisclosed location."

I picture Liberty holding Wren babies in one hand while swinging the snake over her head with the other.

"Once back at the nest," she continues "the young birds were scattered about the porch with the parents diving and calling in obvious and sheer panic. Returning the babies to the nest was an exercise in futility to say the least. Looking closer, one of their siblings was still in the nest... it's lifeless body a horrible reminder of what they were trying to escape."

Liberty gives me a heavy sigh, "Gawd this is taking forever. So, the babies fled in all directions, into the late evening twilight... with more storms rumbling off in the distance."

"Anyway... there were 3 in a nice little pile on the steps this morning and mom and dad in attendance." and that is the end of her story.

I'm in awe and can only muster a "WOW", speechlessness being foreign to me. "That was an epic tale of courage."

That Liberty Gold is my girl. I love her.

Everybody feels like crap sometimes.

Saturday is finally here, and I feel like crap. This bothers me.

Last night, I went to bed early. Why don't I feel like a spring chicken?

The day started merrily enough. The two J's, RWC, and I went to the Hofbrau House in Newport for Tam Tam's surprise birthday party. We had to be there by 11 am and it was a sunny, cool morning that had no business being in late June.

My dogs have been acting strange lately, not feeling well I guess. I left them in the yard while we were gone. This yard is guarded by iron gates, extra fencing, and an invisible fence. This is canine Alcatraz, and no dog should be able to escape. You have no idea the hundred's and hundred's of dollars I've spent reinforcing it's perimeters.

Having the audacity to leave those dogs out when I wasn't home is not something I felt good about. But I did it anyway, silly fool.

As we pull into the parking lot for Tam Tam's surprise party, my cell phone rings. It's my bestie Karla, who lives across the street, calling to let me know that Katie Houdini is out running the streets.

So we sit in the parking lot for five minutes, trying to find out which of the J's took the spare key from Karla's house and exactly which one never returned it, because now Karla can't let Katie Houdini back in the house.

And then, here comes Tam Tam with her daughter, son, and grand baby, getting ready to walk right by the car. We all hunch down.

We may have missed the surprise, but we didn't ruin it. The party was beautiful, the food was great, the company beyond compare. It was reunion like, all my nearest and dearest from the old neighborhood.

It's only 3 pm now, and I feel like crap. It makes me look for things that will make me feel better. Little things, like drinking cokes and smoking cigarettes because I just feel so exhausted and it embarrasses me. I am just so very deep down in my soul tired.

It would be easy to call it depression, but I think it's wear-and-tear. There is no cheating death, only avoiding it and buying time. I am indeed elusive, and very good at it. But let's not forget, it's buying time that I'm doing, and a price is indeed paid, in the form of the energy that runs my body.

It's as if shards and pieces of my energy goes back into the universe, gone to me forever, in payment for every moment of extra time here. So I am one tired bitch and it has nothing to do with emotion. It's all about energy.

What the hell, I'll take it, it's well worth it because today, I got to eat birthday cake with my Tam Tam.

Good thing there's not a sleep tax. So there you have it.

Memorial Day, 2011

Yesterday, RWC, his mom D, and I went to the cemetery to lay flowers for Memorial Day. It got me to thinking about how I've always viewed the holiday as being for remembering those who gave their lives in the military, as opposed to just loved ones we've lost along the way.