sept 15, 2003

Funny! In a gallows-humor kind of way. Not an hour after posting about the "pillars" upon which this meager life rests, Simple Tree comes home, and with a quavering voice, he tells Monk that he may lose his job. He works in food service at an Air Force Base hospital. It may be recalled that the federal government has been trimming its military bases for years.

Indeed, we've suffered this threat at least a few times over the years, and Monk actually feels complacent about it, feeling that it is unlikely. Yet, this may be whistling past the grave yard. And what if the sword overhead falls?

Monk has said that he waits for the next shoe to drop. This well could be it. Monk could become a full-fledged vagabond, trying his luck out on the mean streets. Just fancy, if he can make a go of it, and if he can still post at public libraries, you could be reading a first-hand account of full loserdom, as though this account hasn't been good enough! Actually, one cannot imagine being able to survive, but one finds the thought a little tantalizing.

One feels sadder about what could become of Little Bear. He's just an innocent dog. Monk could be said to bring his fate upon himself, whereas Little Bear certainly doesn't deserve to have to suffer such a serious disruption in old age. Simple Tree, of course, will be fine; he just won't be able to continue supporting his invalid son.

Incidentally, regarding the last entry, this actually reinforces the point. These cuts were going strong under President Clinton, and they continue under President Bush. Somehow, it just doesn't seem to matter. Like it's just a big con game: good cop, bad cop. That's all! It's more about public relations than anything else.

sept 17, 2003

Monk hadn't checked his home e-mail account in days, and when he looked a couple of mornings ago, he was taken aback by a message from Jules, signed Jules and Buzzer. Buzzer is the estranged younger brother, who we were calling Cain again after his recent troubles with the law. Now that his life seems to be re-normalizing and Monk isn't feeling threatened by him, we'll go back to calling him White Buzz or Buzzer.

"The kids started school this fall, and they couldn't love it more. Golden Wolf is in Kindergarten and Silent Dreamer is Pre-K. Wolfie already has a few friends (one is even a girl!!!). . . . The kids have GREAT teachers, Wolfie was already reading a little when school started, now, I haven't found anything he CAN'T read!!! I guess that means no more spelling what we don't want him to hear!! Dreamer already knows most of what they're doing in Pre-K . . . I have never seen a little girl so happy about homework. I can't keep enough worksheets in the house for her. But she won't talk at school, so they can't put her in speech therapy like I think she needs, because the speech therapist needs to hear her talk to make that decision, and she won't talk there. I think she's starting to add a few more letters to her vocabulary though, a lot of her words have gotten clearer since she started doing all the worksheets. I think she's up to all 5 vowels and about 8 consonants that she can pronounce now and she is finally starting to play the 'copy what mommy just said' game, so maybe we can have her talking like everyone else soon. Wolfie got an award at school on Monday. It was for showing outstanding character traits and he is soooo proud of himself. We're going to frame it and hang it in his bedroom."

Monk feels a little envious over that normality, which is compounded by Jules' blonde beauty. Can Buzzer keep it steady? It's nice to hear that the kids are taking to school. Buzzer hated school with a passion when he was a kid. He seemed to have an allergic reaction to the very idea of going to school, but he is naturally bright, even if he no longer shows it. When Jules writes of Silent Dreamer's problem of extreme shyness, one thinks of the connection to Buzzer, as he was morbidly shy, too.

Topping all of this, Jules is helping to raise funds for the school, and that was in another part of the e-mail. It's American dreaming. Monk silently wishes them luck.