“You shouldn’t go up on the roof anymore,” she says
“And for that matter, you shouldn’t climb a ladder at your age,” she adds
This makes sense
Especially since we can afford to hire people to do anything
They will show up in their van with all the equipment strapped on top
The inside of their vehicle smelling sweetly of vaping of some sort
They’ll talk to me without removing their earbuds
I’ll try to read the tattoos on their necks without being obvious
But the calligraphy is so baroque, and I wonder why anyone would choose that font?
And anyway, I just want the roof cleaned so I don’t have to worry anyone
I could do this myself, I tell them, and actually have before
But now it’s different, you know, at my age
We don’t make eye contact, and I think they’re listening to me
But it could be something else on their earbuds
Maybe even another call they’re on
Pretending to talk to me but really not
And I wonder if anyone is listening, really?
“I shouldn’t go up on the roof,” I say
They don’t reply
But just turn around and start taking the ladders from the van
Their cargo pants hanging precariously off their hips
9 Responses
Kevin, I love your writings!!! ‘Thanks for sharing
Thanks for sharing.It’s a good time in life to start being thoughtful on all fronts. Perhaps burning coal is like going on the roof?
Great point, yet another thing we should be listening to our children about…
Nice! “But the calligraphy is so baroque, and I wonder why anyone would choose that font?” had us laughing out loud.
Outstanding.
Is there such a thing as aging gracefully? Listening to the wisdom of our bodies as they wabi sabi without conscious consent? The source of poetry?
Maybe some form of tragic beauty in aging, see also the Hindenburg Disaster…
Kevin – always enjoyable, and different from reading Beaudelaire.
The tattoo reference reminded me of this …
She said: What’s that tattoo say on your neck?
He said: Oh, it’s Sanskrit … it says “make reasonable choices”
Priceless! “The supreme irony of life is that hardly anyone gets out of it alive.” — Robert A. Heinlein