Nine months of pandemic has been enough time for my husband’s hair to grow long and unkempt, so much so that he was beginning to resemble a 19th century classical composer. Or maybe a late 18th-early 19th century one. Maybe he was started to resemble Ludwig van Beethoven. I’d say his countenance is quite a bit more cheery, but there is probably good reason for that.

I’ve offered to cut his hair for him on a number of occasions, but he has politely declined. Today he finally relented, and as I have taken it upon myself to cut my own hair from time to time, I own a pair of good haircutting scissors and a useful rat tail comb.

Now they say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, but in pandemic times I think a decent haircut might rank right up there in ability to rekindle appreciation for a familiar significant other. He beamed when he saw his freshly shorn head in his bathroom mirror and told me it was better than the cut his regular hairdresser gives him. I may have earned myself a recurring job, but if this is what I must do to earn my keep, so be it.

We forget what we can do. We get caught on that spinning wheel of commerce and business. We want to support local businesses, to help keep the economy spry, to participate in our consumer society and partake of all the good things that money can buy. Sometimes, in our haste and busyness, we might forget to pick up our own thread, to stitch a quick fix or maybe even weave a tale. It’s not that difficult.

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Beethoven had some really wild hair, but he couldn’t hear that well, he was hearing impaired. His father had cuffed him about the ears, so he drank his wine and maybe some beers from a chalice permeated through with lead. At least this may be a possibility. Whatever the case, he left a graying lock for posterity. https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2005-12-07-0512070213-story.html

Though I’ve only met her through her wonderful, buoyant, humourous (she’s British, damnit, I’ll spell it her way….and damnit again, they actually spell humorous the same way we Americans do….), heart-squeezing words, I call her my friend. I’ve been floundering as far as my writing. Much is going on in my life. My husband has been having some health concerns, so there are doctor’s appointments and an upcoming procedure, sooner than I’ll be ready for, but I’m hopeful. My horses moved to a new barn and have celebrated one month of stall living at Fantazee Farms. So lovely Chip, the Quarter Horse I was taking lessons on and whom I’ve mentioned in previous posts, is now a part of my life. I love calling his name to say hello and seeing his kind, blazed face turn my way. Rocky, Al and I are all adjusting. Maybe they are doing a better job of it than I am, but since there really is nothing but time floating around out there, I’m sure we’ll all be fine. Just give me this right now, okay? Shh, philosophical mind, scientific skepticism, take a seat. Time is floating in this scenario, got it?

Elaine suggested I write something evocative of the sound of Appalachian Spring by Aaron Copland. What a wonderful prompt. I’m intimately familiar with this work, having performed it on numerous occasions. I even directed Aaron Copland to the restroom at a venue in New York City back in the early 1980s. He turned to our group during intermission and inquired, probably directed more to one of the young men in our group, but since he was nearest to me I eagerly volunteered. I always know where the restroom is. I managed to eke out a little verse, in response to Elaine’s prompt. So this little bauble is for her.

What Springs to Mind

Bones beneath my feet,
furrowed rows shadow-defined.
The thin leather soles of my shoes wobble,
unstable in the loosened soil.
Quivering warmth
engages my toes.
We leap
into dance,
solemn and contemplative,
raucous and joyful,
all the things.
Dust kicked up.
Dust settling.
I feel sun tingles
and no memories.