April 28, 2004
The Phone Call
Starting blog entries with poems may become a habit... we shall see...
.
Calling him back from layoff a poem
I called a man today. After he said
hello and I said hello came a pause
during which it would have been
confusing to say hello again so I said
how are you doing and guess what, he said
fine and wondered aloud how I was
and it turns out I'm OK. He
was on the couch watching cars
painted with ads for Budweiser follow cars
painted with ads for Tide around an oval
that's a metaphor for life because
most of us run out of gas and settle
for getting drunk in the stands
and shouting at someone in a t-shirt
we want kraut on our dog. I said
he could have his job back and during
the pause that followed his whiskers
scrubbed the mouthpiece clean
and his breath passed in and out
in the tidal fashion popular
with mammals until he broke through
with the words how soon thank you
ohmyGod which crossed his lips and drove
through the wires on the backs of ions
as one long word as one hard prayer
of relief meant to be heard
by the sky. When he began to cry I tried
with the shape of my silence to say
I understood but each confession
of fear and poverty was more awkward
than what you learn in the shower.
After he hung up I went outside and sat
with one hand in the bower of the other
and thought if I turn my head to the left
it changes the song of the oriole
and if I give a job to one stomach other
forks are naked and if tonight a steak
sizzles in his kitchen do the seven
other people staring at their phones
hear?
by Bob Hicock, from "Insomnia Diary". © University of Pittsburgh Press.
Woody got a call like this today from Walmart, Hilo's largest employer. I filled out an application for him three months ago and they called today. He had two interviews and a thrid one set up for tomarrow. Walking on cloud nine he is and I think he has visions of giving up the Kona run for a job closer to home. Its going to pay less but then no hotel bill or eating costco hotdogs everyday for lunch...
I was astounded. This was amazing. Its happened twice in two weeks. Alamo car rental called him and now this... Im thrilled for him.
The store is doing better and while we wont likely make the numbers we had last month we are in line... I still owe everyone on the planet money so if we can get a bit of that worked off we will be ( I will be... I hate being hit up by the collectors uggh... what can I say??) better all around.
Been feeling a bit off and discontented. Woody and I are thinking more about moving off the island and back to the mainland... We are looking at retirement communities. That might not be everyones cup of tea but I like the idea of being in a quiet place with old people and activites ect. Woody is going to qualify this year as "mature" (he'll be 55) so we shall see. Information is being collected and we will do a lot more research before we jump this time! I am very lonely at times and wish I had someone to really talk to. Woody doesn't "get it", most of the time...
No hostile comments yet on my last post. I was afraid that I was too controversial for my readers I hope not. Its going to take all of us with all of our ideas to work out the worlds troubles. As long as we can communicate we have a shread of hope...
