musings

Summer Vacation, Day 89: Butterflies

/ J. Thorp / 1 Comment

You might think this post is about Emma’s first full day of school, with lunch and recess and everything. It’s not. It’s about the butterfly garden at the Como Zoo — our visit to which was appropriately overshadowed by Gabe’s illness and sudden eruption in the zoo lobby. Jodi wasn’t convinced she wanted to go through the butterfly house, which looks like a giant monarch caterpillar made of yellow, white and black striped mesh. I thought the kids would like it, though, so we got in line. Turns out I may have liked it best.

I should mention that, as we walked from the car to the zoo, we followed a monarch flip-fluttering on the breeze, brilliant orange against the green of the trees along the walk. It sparked something in me — just for a second, I wanted to follow it.

So — we entered the butterfly garden, and we’re surrounded. Broad-winged blue butterflies. Little reds and yellows. So many you can hear their wing beats — so delicate we were instructed not to touch them or brush them off, so strong they dogfight the breezes and come out on top. We saw young butterflies courting, and an old giant with wings like frayed denim flap his death-dance in the shady dirt beneath the flowers. Each one seemed as lovely and surprising and unique as summer day — soaring or topsy-turvy, feasting or resting, brilliant or melancholy …

Quite a collection — of Lepidotera and long summer days. Hope yours was good, too.

Summer Vacation, Day 23: Wandering Mind …

/ J. Thorp / Leave a comment

Done with work for a better than a week. Tomorrow afternoon we head west. Tonight, the mind wanders, unhobbled, grazing freely where it will. Ah!

* * * * *

Yesterday at the baseball practice, Trevor spotted a tiny sparrow (not one of the fat noisy English guys) hopping through the grass.

“I just saw a walking bird,” he said. “Why do some birds walk?”

“They walk when they look in the grass for food,” I said.

He climbed down from the bleachers and walked toward the grass. I watched older boys take batting practice.

Trevvy came back, looking slightly flush. “What’s wrong?” I asked.

“I guess some walking birds are walking birds and flying birds!” he said.

* * * * *

I passed a car on the way home today missing an entire front fender and half the grill. As I passed I noticed the driver with her cell phone in her left hand, tight to her ear, and her right hand gesturing wildly in time with her fast-flapping lips. So: steering with her knees, or not at all? She’s done this at least once before, I suspect …

* * * * *

The beans and sunflowers I planted late this spring have germinated and are growing nearly as fast as the weeds. That little miracle never gets old for me, any more than animal births. How is it that vegans aren’t bothered by eating sprouts?

* * * * *

Wow, it feels good to be off. The Cold Spring Pale Ale is kicking in, though. Lil sleepy. See you soon …

Summer Vacation, Day 21: Summer Dreaming

/ J. Thorp / 2 Comments

Strange dream last night. I was back in high school, hanging around with this girl I knew back then but haven’t seen or heard from in years. It was summertime, and in the dream, we were dating (though we never dated in real life – never even thought about it!).

You know how sometimes when you’re dreaming, your dream self is vaguely aware that this isn’t reality? So I’m sitting there, talking with this girl, and thinking, “This is a dream. I’m not a Michigan teenager anymore; I’m a married father of four in Minnesota. But then why does this feel just like high-school, and summer, in Michigan?”

I don’t remember a word that I said to the friend in the dream. Instead, I remember the strong feeling like I needed to get back to reality, because (like Back to the Future) if I stayed too long in the past I’d mess up a great and glorious future. But that “teenage feeling” was so authentic I was a little torn about leaving.

Finally, I excused myself, and awoke in bed.

I wouldn’t want to go back, or to do it all over again, or to change anything at all. But I do sometimes wish I could call up that feeling from time to time – like falling headlong into an unknown and exciting future. The future is still unknown, and still has the potential for excitement. So what’s changed?

I’m guessing that back then, every possibility seemed exciting. Today, some futures appear distinctly more exciting than others.

Summer Vacation, Day 15: Dead Frog Walkin’

/ J. Thorp / 2 Comments

Blogger’s Note: I’m postponing my musings on Slaughterhouse-Five in favor of a “cute kid” story from tonight. And it’s not even about one of my kids!

I’m lying in the lush green grass beside the soccer fields, soaking up the abundant sunshine and watching Emma’s team (the Flames!) warm up, when a little boy and his dad pass behind me.

Says the boy: “Dad, you wanna know how I know God is real?”

“How’s that?” asks his dad.

“Because one time I saw a dead frog in the yard,” says the boy, “and the next day, it was gone!”

They kept walking, so I didn’t hear Dad’s response. I wonder, did the boy assume resurrection, assumption, or both?