Saturday, September 06, 2008

On the Curb of the Publix Shopping Lot...

I sat with my weeks worth of groceries, grateful for once that I had no butter, sour cream, milk or ice cream. The sun was cooking down on me, perhaps amplified by the black tar-top lot, and I knew that all of those things would perish... I could have sat in my car to contemplate what to do, but it too was black and as hot as the dickens.
So I just sat on the curb with my bag of potatoes, box of pasta & can of mushrooms...
smoking, contemplating, waiting...
For what, I did not know.
The hood was up on my car, as if it were a flag waving some friendly tow truck safely over. But I knew that would never happen. Roadside protection had already told me that I had used the maximal allowance for a twelve month period.
Nope. No more tows for almost 3 more months.
So, I just sat there...
smoking, contemplating & waiting....
I watched people come and go...
Green aprons pushing squeaky wheels over the black top and to the gold Volvo's, sleek white Mercedes, big F-150's, the spotless Cadillac's and the little black BMW's.
Green aprons loading up bags of fresh fruits and vegetables and huge slabs of meat and bag load after bag load of wonderful, healthy food.
Green aprons plopping twelve packs of Heinekin and bottles of champagne into trunks.
Green aprons dropping preservative-rich frozen insta-meals and gossip magazines and Pantene into tiny little trunks.
Green aprons sweating and never accepting a tip & never noticing me noticing them.
With my rump on the curb and my flip-flopped feet on the black top, I looked over my shoulder...
Grass. Beautiful, green grass. Thick. Healthy. Cool.
I stretched my legs out before me & allowed myself to just lay back, become one with soft cool earth.
Staring into the sky, my mind bounced & ricocheted around my own little world.
Chinga- Ching - Ching.
The rythym of the sound drawing closer ...
Chinga - Ching - Ching
Chinga - Ching - Ching
Long dirty blonde hair in dread locks.
Chains from front pockets of baggy, faded & holey blue jeans to the back pocket.
Hemp in the form of a braided hat and a well-worn necklace.
'A song for my fair lady.'
'I haven't any money for you.'
'No worries, my lady.'

Remembering another moment of enjoying the 'eternal now'....
"Chinga-Ching-Ching" to the profound strangers in our lives that make a difference and may never even know it...

11 comments:

Me said...

Missing you as always. Good to see you're still smiling when you need it the most.

Much <3!

Mwa.

Mel said...

Oh, for a stretch in the cool grass with naked toes.....

Mel said...

<--gonna take shoes off and go listen again....

:-)

Shimmerrings said...

Beautiful when the worst can be turned into the very best. You sure got Maithri's message on that one. Thank you for reminding me to look around for my own little angels, the ones that are always there, we just do not always notice... there to put a smile on our face, when we'd rather cry... and make us feel peace, instead of frustration. Ha, it's almost as if your lying back on the grasses invited the moment in... like, "Ok! I'm ready! Tell me something good!" And then the music began... the music that never stops playing, only our ears are sometimes closed.

singleton said...

cha~ching~ Beautiful girl, beautiful meant to be....ILYSSFM and miss you even more! Really, really, really.....

~Babs said...

Here's to the unexpected,,the Angel Unaware,,,
The Miracles.
And thanks for the 'Eternal Now'.

skinnylittleblonde said...

thought I left replies before leaving for work this am, but I guess they didn't stick...

Orhan...thanks sweetie, the little things mean the most!

Mel... plush green grass and bare feet always go good together!

Shimmerings...you are so profound & I hadn't though of it, but I think you might be right! Those words...'the eternal now' bounce in my head more times in a day than one can imagine. Each moment lays the foundation for the next...we gotta respect each and every one.

Sister Sing...Hopefully I'll get to see you at Brother Love's before too long....remember Fridays are for dancing!

Wilsons...Yes! And the walking angels take all forms and sometimes, they have dreadlocks and smell kinda bad ;)

Anne said...

How beautiful. :)

The CEO said...

Your real life is just as good as your fiction, and even more instructive.
p&l
monty

Oceanshaman said...

Nice . . . poignant story . . . great version of this song . . .

Damn them green aprons!

Anonymous said...

Anne...and how lucky I am!

CEO...lol, please follow no instructions from me, I travel some pretty crazy roads! ;) p&l always...

oceans...beautiful song indeed. Love the Zep version, of course...but Chris Cornell does it no shame. Lol...and bless those green aprons, doing whatthey gotta do ;)