Ron's Ramblings
Some of my short stories will be added here. Read, enjoy. Also, please see my author page here.
Can We Go Now?
”I’m ready. I’m all warmed up.”
“Stupid small keys on this thing!”
“Let me see it John. What are you trying to do?”
“I’m trying to send a text message to that dadblamed car that we’re NOT going anyplace.”
Yes, it has gotten that bad. Cars now have a mind of their own. John’s been home for a couple of hours but that darned car wants to go for a drive! These things are so high tech they can turn themselves on. At least they can’t drive without a human behind the wheel. They are so high tech that the gearshift ‘reads’ the fingerprints. That is the ultimate theft protection.
John didn’t know about all of this when he bought the car. He saw it in the showroom and paid for it right then. He had his quarterly royalty check and needed a good car. Unfortunately for him, he’s an impulse buyer. That’s why Debi, his wife, handles the finances. But she turned him loose to get his car. Big mistake!
“I want to go visit my sister.”
“Y O U D O N How do you do apostrophe’s on this danged keypad?
“Here, let me do it. Your fingers are too fat.”
“Go to Sleep”
That’s all she had to do. The car would stay asleep until told to wake up. Unlike John, Debi read the instructions. So to make his life easier, she programmed the letter A to tell the car to wake up and the letter B for it to go to sleep. That’s all he needed until the car troubles start. But, that’s another story.
The Paths We Follow
Our trail through life opens the day we are born. We start in a clearing. The route ahead looks clear. As we age, a few stones trip us yet we endure. We look back at this point with wonder. It is but our youth and missteps are expected. We continue forward.
Early adulthood brings us to our first choice of paths. No route is charted. There is no map. We look ahead. Do we select the one that is the brightest? Or does the more foreboding promise more excitement? What guidelines do we use? Are there paths in sight but not accessible?
We move forward. We are young. Caution is just a word, not a form to exercise. We make choices. Some are simple while others are life changing. Look, a career path beckons. A fork up ahead, one branch to romance, the other not.
We look ahead and take stock of our choices. Brambles crown the path of singleness. The path of romance is lined with roses. Do we opt for the quick and easy? We cannot see beyond the brambles and the curves obscure much of the path of love. Our choice seems obvious but if we’re wrong, there is no going back to take the other path.
Roses die, lives change. Time continues in its forward motion. The path turns to gravel. Potholes grow as the route becomes steeper. It is our road alone yet parallels our mate. Will our paths converge or branch beyond reach? The sands in the hourglass continue to fall.
The middle years have arrived. Is our career stable? Did the roses bloom again or did they morph into thistles? There is still time to rescue our life. Careers can change. How many forks did we follow? We get lost in the forest of choices. Did we give up and seek the old and familiar? Did we push ahead and cut away the underbrush of doubt? This is not the time of reflection. Now is the time to forge our platform of our declining years. The calendar pages turn.
We face the mirror that shows our life. As we turn, the aches of time make their presence known. We have made it to here. Have our loves outweighed our regrets? Look closely at the mirror. It is a map. It is the path we followed.
And the Song Was
“What is that racket?”
“That’s the Acorns, Dad.”
“Well they sound like real nuts. You should listen to some real music.”
It sounds like father and son are having a mutual disagreement although I doubt if it was from the beans. This should be interesting. Dad had Chipmunks, son has squirrels. It’s a squeaking bag of nuts they’re listening to. But, let’s roll away the stones and see what kind of bugs dad finds.
Dad, an avid record collector, puts the Beatles “Norwegian Wood’ on the stereo. Junior covered his ears.
“What the heck is that?”
“Well, if we’re going to have wild animals like squirrels and chipmunks, I thought I’d give ‘em someplace to play. The song is ‘Norwegian Wood’ by the Beatles.”
“Can’t your bugs play something more upbeat?”
He put on ‘Revolution’. Junior smiled. Dad thought maybe the words were getting in the way. He put on ‘Wipeout’ by the Surfaris.
“Dad, I can’t make out the words.”
“I hope not. It’s something called an instrumental. There are no words.”
No reaction. The kid wants words. So he puts on ‘Satisfaction’ by the Rolling Stones. Junior heads to the kitchen for a soda. Dad is getting flustered. He puts on ‘You can’t sit down’ by the Dovells. Junior yawned.
“I give up. At least they put out one song that describes you.”
He puts on Simon and Garfunkel’s, ‘I am a Rock’.