Home again!

I’m home again! Going to town turned out to be more of an adventure than I’d thought. After I threw everything in the boat I jumped in, pushed off, and went to start the engine (guys who are about to tell me what I’m doing wrong: relax – the water basically doesn’t move here, and I just wanted to get the engine clear before starting it). It didn’t start. Choke out, primed and primed and primed, it just wasn’t getting gas. My boat ride was waiting at the boat landing up the river. I called the guy who sold it to me and he said, “oh, that’s what it was doing before. I thought I fixed it, woops. Well, you need a special tool to get it going. Hang tight, I’m gonna rustle up someone with a boat.”

“Okay.” I laid back and watched the sky move lazily above. Then I called my mom to explain how I was floating in the middle of the river, waiting for a rescue party. She happened to be nearby, so she hooked up with my ride and the guy who sold me the boat.

I remembered something I forgot, paddled back to shore, ran in and got it.

Up the river all the boat people seemed to be missing, until they found this nice guy who I met one time looking at someones yurt. He was in the middle of a game of cribbage, but he dropped it to take up the rescue. Eventually all these stressed out people got up here with their special tool, which turned out to be… a socket wrench! Duh. The problem turned out to be something entirely new, though, and I was lucky to be rescued by people who knew how to light spark plugs on fire and the boat eventually made it to the boat doctor.

I worked for a couple hours before getting in an argument with an asshole bouncer who told me, “if you aren’t going to jump when I say jump, go home now.” So I left, $120 richer and hung out with my beautiful little sister and her friends.

I applied for that job, though it turned out I didn’t have to stay in town overnight to do it: my sister has the key to the office, so she let me in and gave me an application. I was suprised to find out that I still look pretty damn good on paper. I used big words I thought I’d forgotten. I regained my sanity and realized I don’t want a job. But when/if they call I might ask to be a fill-in person for them.

My boat ride brought me all the way back up the road and I slept up there and helped pour concrete this morning before getting on the river and coming out here. I’ve never been so happy to come home. In town I scored a new dresser, some baskets, and pretty jars and bottles that I hauled up the hill and arranged all pretty. I want to make cranberry syrup for this winter, but I’m not sure of it’s practical applications.

I just came in from sitting out on the river bank watching the light turn dark. Bro was still for once and I played the dulcimer for a bit in the light gone dusk. A tree went by, moving upstream fast. Presumably there was a beaver pulling it, but in the almost dark it just looked like magic. Then a white bird flew overhead and meowed, and I sat still and listened for a long time while the bird flew around meowing and squacking like a chicken. What kind of bird does this? I can’t wait for it to be light in the morning so I can try to find out.

I want to spend every evening for the rest of my life on this riverbank.