[lit-ideas] Re: Good Morning
- From: David Ritchie <profdritchie@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 24 Jul 2012 15:19:30 -0700
On Jul 24, 2012, at 8:57 AM, Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx wrote:
>
>
> We are considering the significance of "Good morning".
>
The President of the United States will be fundraising today not far from
Atomic Auto, so there's no point trying to go over and return the broken part.
How went this morning? Was it actually good? TScandia put a "loaner" igniter
into the car to see if that part is indeed the issue. They think they can get
a new one, made by SAAB, within a week. Possibly. But first we need to test
the fit and demeanor of the loaner. As we who read fiction and watch movies
know full well, loaners can be difficult beasts.
Was mine a bad morning? I had drinks with a group of pilots not long ago. I
was trying to watch soccer on the bar's television. One of the pilots engaged
me in conversation. I was kind of surprised to find them drinking--our pilot
friend was tea-total--but then I remembered the pub beside the Battle of
Britain airfield at home and pictures of Spitfire pilots downing pints.
Apparently they bid for routes each month. Depending on status, you get to go
to Rio or Flint, Michigan, one or the other. But if you don't like what you
get, there's a kind of secondary market in trades--I'll swap you three legs to
Kalamazoo for one to Boring, Oregon. They were all three based in Texas and so
had to fly to Newark on a jump seat before they clocked on. Four hours flying
*before* you begin the day. Maybe three. In any case, quite the ordeal before
you start your "morning."
And my knee doesn't hurt. Hereabout there's an epidemic of Self-Inflicted Knee
Injury Disorder or SIKID. I shall call the CDC. Inoculations may need to be
given to the general population. My wife's knee is not as swollen as it was
yesterday, but it's still painful. She tripped over a tree root while hiking.
In a forest. Careless of Naychah to leave such things lying about.
While we were away, Portland declared an emergency that required people to boil
their water. Someone whose job it is to test water--"Ah, yes, wet...the very
quality we were looking for"-- detected a trace of e coli in the reservoir.
This morning's news is that Starbucks are coming after the city because some of
their stores were unable to make coffee during this period. I had the distinct
impression that making coffee involved boiling water.
And then one domestic cat, the beast who usually cannot get out of the house
fast enough, just before noon insisted on staying indoors long enough to throw
up twice. I opened the door at the first upchucky noise, "Out you go, out."
But nooooooooo. Got to give the carpet the full dose.
And then I read a note from someone who complained--you know my writing is not
without error, so let's assume she was having one of those moments--that
something had "undermined" her "ability to forward my teaching and
writing-related obligations in a professional and timely manner."
Carry on forwarding, is my [insignificant] advice. It could make your morning
good.
David Ritchie,
Portland, Oregon
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