Notes from Maine - 2022/02/13
My father has been in bed for a week. Getting him to eat anything is impossible. It’s a struggle to even get him to drink fluids. He has seen plenty of medical professionals (hospital and otherwise). I believe he’s getting good care. My sister and nephew came to visit. We all fear the worst, but only time will tell I suppose.
His house is just plain creepy. I tried to capture the vibe of his house in Elder—one of my recent books. On the outside, it’s a log cabin. The inside is old photos on textured walls, and lots of cobwebs. A cleaning person comes in once a month to apply fresh dust and cobwebs. An exterminator comes every so often to assure us that there’s no way for mice, snakes, and squirrels to get in. It’s puzzling why it’s so easy to find evidence of mice, snakes, and squirrels in the house.
Dad likes his house. We’ve been visiting a lot lately. He’s always in bed. The one thing he is really looking forward to is the Super Bowl. At least for a little while, he will have to get out of bed. Maybe he can be enticed to eat some actual food.
I can’t imagine moving around as much as my father did during his life. Perhaps I simply got lucky when I found my house, more than twenty years ago. I’ve lived here longer than anywhere else, and I have no intention of ever moving. It’s not the best house, but there’s always something interesting to do. Tons of projects will keep me busy until I’m no longer able to tackle them. On some of the home shows on TV, they talk about all the houses that are “move-in ready.” What could be more boring than that? When there’s a crack in the ceiling, or a door that doesn’t quite shut, I want to know that it’s my poor workmanship to blame—not some preexisting condition from the last owner. A few feet from me is a closet that’s not finished. It has a door but no handle. Where I intend to put build-in drawers, there’s just a framed hole. At the moment, my workshop is buried in broken pinball machines, so I haven’t been able to do any woodworking.
Mom is here too. She came up with my sister and nephew. At the moment, she is cleaning flipper assemblies for one of the pinball machines. Always busy. I suppose I inherited a little of her energy. Sometimes I wish I had more. I have a very interesting life that I couldn’t have predicted when I bought this house. The building and land seemed like they were ripe with possibilities. I think that has proven true.
Hope you’re well. Sorry this email has been so unstructured. My thoughts feel scattered at the moment. I’m really grateful for everyone who has rated & reviewed The Rainman so far (my latest book). I’m not sure how many people are still getting this email. Recently, I’ve heard that more and more newsletters are being sent right to SPAM. I should find an alternate way to publish these.
