Hear the River?

When we last spoke I was mentioning the fog in Whimbrel. Today we speak with bluebird sky and the songs of Spring in the air. My tongue has departed Whimbrel for now to indulge in the fruit that springtime in Bend has to offer. Today I have seen the violet-green swallow. One of my regions harbingers of spring and an alarm clock to the central Oregon outdoorsman. The bell has been rung and we can't put that toothpaste back in the tube.
Spring has sprung to coin another cheesy cliche.
This time around has been something even more overwhelming than the last multitude of overwhelming moments I've mentioned in this blog. I'm truly sorry it doesn't have to do with the sagebrush and the cowgirls, this time. Oh, wait, I think I just out metaphored my own damn self. Anyhow let's get back to the spring I'm talking about.
So I get this call. It was my phone ringing, I know redundant but I must spill my skill right now. So I answered my phone with the typical, "Hellllo..." No reply.......... Hmmm......I didn't know what to think other than a telemarketer or a prank. I love pranks, so I wanted to play along. As I waited for a reply with baited breath and a snicker on tap, I heard 3 words. 3 words that threw my for a loop. I didn't think prankers said that. I was a little off kilter for a response. It was kinda like learning the " 'I' before 'E' except after 'C' rule". Probably quite a bit like how you are feeling right now. So I responded off the cuff with a brief answer, "I've been here and I don't plan on leaving." I know, you want to know what the question was, right? Well let's just say I'll allude to that eventually.

As I waited for a response to my response, it sank in. I found it. She was always there but I had never found her the way I did that day. My answer was the golden ticket to my own question. Until I heard her say it, out loud, it never sank in. Many pages of scripture and related writings have been spent trying to explain what I just found and it was all summed up in 3 little words. I've known her all my life, it feels like, and for some reason I was blessed to get to know her once again. The love has always been the same and the bond is stronger than it's ever been.
In the short time I had to spend listening, she spoke much wisdom and kept a smile on my face. My confidence grew and somehow I felt like a superhero, like I could walk through walls, catch a bullet in my hand, and beat the capital 'O' in a footrace. She told me more, without saying more than 3 words, than I could have heard in a lifetime. My heart has grown and my smile has not left.
Perhaps if I haven't 'out metaphored' myself, it would appear that the sagebrush and the cowgirls have gotten a little closer to solving their battle. If I were the mediator, I would simply ask, "Hear the river?"

Let the ones you love know it! Keep the sunny side up, and don't take a poo while your lover is showering in the same bathroom. Carmen, OOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooooot

Prrr...

     The fog was thick in Whimbrel as Ab made her way through the forested trail leading to the dump. After her last trip she was well aware that Caniday may be lurking. Still not sure how she felt about this critter that she had hand fed and nearly lost her finger to. Ab trudged on, she had a job to do regardless of who was in the forest. She could only see about an arms length in front of her face with the heavy fog and could only hear the battering surf on the shoreline not too far below. Ab was carrying a heavy load and felt the need to take rest midway through her journey. She found a comfortable log that was dry despite the thick humidity. Ab shrugged her load for a moment in order to relax her tired muscles. She was carrying a great deal of rubbish this trip. It was the week of celebration in Whimbrel, and much more rubbish was produced compared to a normal week. As she relaxed herself and began to let her hair loose from the tight braid she had used to keep her hair away from the refuse, she noticed something. Something seemed to be tugging at her hair. Ab had grown her hair as long as she had been alive. It was long to say the least. When she finally unfurled all of her lengthy locks she still felt something tugging on her head. She shrugged her head in order to relieve herself from the tug. It tugged back. Ab tugged the other direction with a great burst to free her hair from its confines. She tugged so hard, she yanked the tugger from its perch. The tugger was animal. Ab was startled and jumped from her rest. The animal was not happy and seemed to be caught up in Ab's hair. As Ab jumped to her feet, trying to flee the critter in her hair, the critter became more entangled in Ab's hair. Being dark and foggy Ab thought the worst as this critter wriggled around in her hair and seemed to become even more entangled. When you grow something all of your life, you become quite protective it and Ab didn't want to loose her hair, even more she didn't want to loose her life. As she jumped up off of her log to dismiss this critter, the critter landed at her feet, still entwined in some of Ab's locks. A bright pair of green eyes stared up at Ab. Ab's eyes stared back. Both of them confounded by what they were experiencing, looked back with confused eyes. Eye-to-eye these beings saw into each others soul and that explained everything they needed to know of one another.  Calmness ensued as Ab and the critter tried to wind their way out of the predicament they were in in. Both were reserved when faced this chaos and neither were upset. There seemed to be a recognition between the two. Neither wanted to hurt the other but they both wanted out of this situation. At that moment Ab had met something she had never met.  As she unwound the critter from its binding it began to make an unusual sound. This critter seemed to be vibrating, on its own. As each breath this critter breathed the vibrations would follow. This puzzled Ab. The critter seemed as if it was paying respect or rewarding Ab for rescuing it from it entangled web. This sound got louder as Ab reached out her hand and began to lightly pet the critters head. Ab had no idea what she was doing but it seemed to work. The critter became more and more docile to each loving touch Ab extended.
     The morning light began to come up over the bay and life was to begin again in Whimbrel. The village began its day as normal until someone noticed Ab had not returned from her chore. Most just thought she was out feeding that midden wolf and paid no mind. Some had ideas that Ab might have gotten into trouble with the wolf and went to look for her. Six or seven of the villagers went up the wooded trail leading to the dump to go and seek Ab.

    The morning turned to afternoon and still no sign of Ab. The six or seven villagers turned into the whole village out on a hunt to find Ab Initio.

Meanwhile, back in the woods Ab and her new friend had come to peace and started a rather special relationship. As the village looked for Ab, she was off-trail and enjoying the time she was spending with her new friend. The critter.

Tune in next time when we define "the Critter", why Ab is missing, and where the hell does the cat get involved? You're not too far away, so stay close. Here kitty, kitty, kitty.....




Sagebrush just kicked another cowgirl out of her saddle and that led to cowgirls going on a chainsaw spree so I don't expect any resolution anytime soon. What I do expect soon is you and I figuring out where the dog and cat came from.
Let the ones you love know it and be good to yourself.
Carmen, OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooot