Kuuamini my friends.
That's something I'll one day be saying.
At least in my dreams as I still intend to go the Nahj route and let fictional characters have adventures and talk avbout the minutiae of their lives, which is bound to be more exciting than mine.
Where do I even begin?
Well, I suppose I should begin at the beginning, which makes sense, but still seems like a question that I should ask because as kind a thing as it was that she did for me, the giving of something so necessary in that moment, that she surely didn't have to do as that's not a thing that anyone would expect to be given so easily.
But I'm getting a little ahead of myself aren't I?
The other night, I had made my way to a place of eating, though not for food, but just because I like to draw in public and that was the best place for me to be drawing then as I had left the comforts of home behind because I was feeling the want to wander.
So there I was, convinced by the earlier loveliness of the weather, that all would be well, I had failed to bring either of my unbrellas with me or even a jacket, which would have struck me as being too much of a burden because it was so hot I didn't want to carry anything extra with me, let alone some kind of rain jacket.
All this to say that I needed a maeksshift covering to put over my shoulders that would be long to enough to cover my shorts because it was raining stupidly hard and I didn't want to get drenched.,
And she was kind enough to let me have a garbage bag that would serve me well enough on my walk home, even if I hadn't felt like the right thing to do in response was to buy a sandwich and drink that I could eat at home.
So impressed by this kindness of hers, not to mention how cute she is, though I just mentioned it now. I turned to look out the windows of the eating place and it had stopped raining.
Now it wasn't the kind of after rain where it was clear that it wasn't going to rain again the immediacy of that day, just that it had stopped and left me feeling wow, this was a kindness made less than necessary.
Though given what happened next, it was totaly necessary.because of the mood that it put me in as I left that place of eating like I was walking on a cloud of happiness as it felt like such a huge bit of goodness that she had shown me.
And as a result of that, I was actually whistling a tune that I hadn't whistled in forever, because I hadn't been this happy since. Though that was partly due to the fact that when I whistle , I walk slower and get lost in the memories of my childhood and walk at the speed of child that can't walk any faster because once they reach home, it's the end to the fun of the day and who wants that when we're young?
I wish that I could write longer, but the quarter's done.
And you'll just have wait.
I didn't think that I'd be making you wait this long, which when you have the chance to read this day's efforts, won't be any time at all as I am going to post the day at the same time.
A promise that is made all the easier by the fact that I am once more several days behind in my posting.
Of course, I'm not so far behind here as I am everywhere else.
That's the problem with creating so much content, writing six bits a day on the writing side and half that on the drawing side.
But it's not content until you have the chance of reading it right?
Sadly, I waited so long this quarter to get going again as I was just a little too 'tigued to be have been here an hour ago when that was the plan.
I was called back to bed though and here we are, an hour later.
God no, not for that.
I said that I was feeling the zzzzzzzzzzzzz train.
You can see the tracks yes?
But I digress. I have a story to continue and it's already going to be two quarters long, with this quarter and that is where I would like to keep it.
This of course is a warning to myself because I have the sudden fear that this story will take on a life of its own that I wasn't expecting it to.
At least not right now.
I'm down for a return visit.
Then again, I'm getting ahead of myself aren't I?
But there I was, whistling the tune I'd first learned when I was a boy and life was far simpler than it is now. A time when the burden of going to going to school like it was a job for children was the worst part of my day, which sounds like an attack against learning, when it isn't, I just never cared for the formalized part of it. Though that was more thr final years of it when it dragged me down with so much work that wore me down.
Not that anyone cares as everyone has their own troubles, many which are worse than mine.
It was then that I stopped whistling, though not just because of the flood of negativity about my most goodly past, but because the hairs on the back of my neck had risen and I felt the eyes of someone focused on me.
I turned my head to the right and looked into the alley that I had just come upon and sitting there, looking more like a wreck, like that of a ship, than that of a man, with a long growth of beard and frayed clothing and a meagre bag of belongings which he'd set beside him as he sat on a thin cushion which no doubt served as a pillow when he slept.
Suddenly my own complaints to myself seemed very much wrong as here was a man who lived a life that would have destroyed me and yet he found himself able to smile, which he was doing now.
It was almost as if this was not the end of him and that it was just the course that his life had travelled down and he was okay with it.
I could only imagine how long he had lived like this.
“Can I do anything for you?” I asked, which was something I don't think I'd ever done before, as I'd long believed that the immediacy of giving such a person what little bit of money I could “afford” to give them might well be wasted on things other than food or sustaining drink and I wasn't about to do that. But here and now, I felt compelled to ask.
He shook his head and continued smiling up at me, even as I approached him and couldn't just leave it at that. Now I wanted to give him something more than ever.
Not that I had much to give him, for reasons of not having much I had on me that he would find useful and that I couldn't afford much myself.
“Surely there must be something that I can give you yes? We all have wants.” I said, hoping that I didn't sound condescending because of course he had wants, he was a man, the same as me, save for his situation being five times as fecked up as mine.
He shook his head again. But I wasn't going to take no for an answer this day.
And still he smiled, like he wasn't the least bit bothered that I hadn't walked off when he;d twice shook his head to my offer of help that he might not even need
“No, that's not good enough. Not today sir.” I said again, convinced of my own doing that I had to give hims something, because to have not done so today would have wounded me.
And I reached into the bag slung around my right shoulder and gave him the bag that the very kind woman at the place of food had given me when I thought that I;d get drenched for the lacking of any such protection from the rain which he needed more than me since the rian had stopped, almost as if it needed to scare me into asking for a kindness from the goodly woman behind the counter since saying she was cute would seem to be an inelegant admission that would come across as self-serving so that I could give this little thing to him.
Admittedly, that was but a fleeting thought becuase it was ridiculous on the face of it as the rain knew nothing of anyone, least of all me, were it to have any sentience, which it did not!
Yet there I was, willing to half believe it to be true, at least in my mind as if I was someone's hero in a story.
I wasn't of course, I was but a man, like him, just living a better life and in no more need of this bag as the rain had stopped and to me, didn't seem like it was going to fall again this night.
But as I set the folded garbage bag in his hands. That didn't seem to be enough. There had to be something more that I could give him.
Before I could do anything more though, he reached into his own little bag of his worldly possessions and pulled out of it a little feather, bent and frayed from the hardships of life, both its and his as it had surely bent from being stored in such a small compartment.
He thrust it towards me, insisting that I take it, with the look in his eyes, which were very much possessed of a certin strength to them, if that made any sense.
Wow, this story is threatening to take on a life of its own isn't it?
It's now two quarters long. How many more will it demand?
I'm here for 30 minutes and I am going to effort breaking this 3o minutes into three sections, the usual practice of writing about myself because that is the easiest form of writing.
Like you had to think about that for any length of time if you've been here even once.
The second part will be the kindness inspired story that is unfolding nicely.
And the third of course will be the latest visit to Mortuvhen, though this will be a short visit because how much can I write about Mortuvhen in ten minutes?
Oh great, it's only a coupole days old and I'm already questioning the rightness of Kuuamini?
Now I think what I heard whispered in my mind's ear because why you whisper into a mind's eye?
And yes, there totally is a mind's ear if there can be a mind's eye.
But I digress.
Kuuanonnii popped into my head as sounding better and I can't disagree.
So good Kuuamini, we hardly knew you.
The first ten minutes is winding down and I'll be moving on to the story that came out of a kindness and my writer self demanding a story be written so I told the kind woman I was going to write a story because of this and then I had to right?
Well, just two days later, here it is, though much of it was formed, I think on the walk home because I came to feel it easily.
And I have just enough time to take a bow.
How could I refuse those eyes and the very simple demand that they were making of me when I myself had insisted he do the same with a strength of my own just moments before?
So I took the feather and felt a surge of warmth flood through me the moment that I touched it. And normally on a hot summer day, though late into it it was, such a thing would be uncomfortable, but this felt good and something else came with it.
A calm excitement as if there was something wondrous about this old bent feather. And when I looked back at him, he made a gesture of drawing, as if to say that I should draw with it, which made no sense, but the warmth and calm that this feather had given me didn't make any either yet here I was, experiencing what I was experiencing, so why couldn't that be right too?
“Of course, as soon as I finish supper.” I said, holding up the bag of food, even though I had food at home, it just wasn't as delicious as what I held in my hand. And suddenly, I knew what I had to do. Though I'd miss the goodness of the supper I had hoped to enjoy, I also knew that he deserved my little supper.
I handed it to him and gave him an even more determined look than I had before because it felt like he would refuse the food if I was uncertain about it. So I was a certain as I could be. And after a moment's resistance, he took it and thanked me with a nod.
I went past a simple 10 minutes each for the practice, kindness story and Mortuvhen as time passed between the ten minutes, though more after the first then the second.
And while I could have stopped after the third ten minutes, especially with both story periods being pretty good, both in size of harvest and enjoyment of story itself, which is important if I hope to keep anyone with me for the long haul.
Of course I'd have to have people come to stay at all.
Ugh.
I''d sooner not think about the strength of my anti-charisma which is stronger than me.
So yes, I could have stopped for the size of the harvest alone with the three periods tallied up as I harvested more than three seven rows which was already the second most of the day.
And feeling as I do, as well as being powered by hamburgers, “fries”, an apple and cookies, I'll surely double dip into the well of stories with ease, though it feels like I won't be finished with the kindness story tonight.
Is that a problem?
Of course, with the Habs playing the Pens in Toronto tonight when everyone and their uncle is expecting a two game sweep by the American club who had a much better season when it was brought to a halt that I thought was going to be the end of any hockey for the 2019-2020 season, I might be too anxious for much writing and will have to write for Mortuvhen certainly after they lose the first game.
Only, the Canadiens can beat the Penguins if they play like they were playing in October and November before they lost those two players and totally fell apart for the rest of the season as they suffered through two eight game losing streaks and a five gamer for an added twist of the knife
So it's a tough hil to climb but to say they can't beat them after sweeping the season series from the Blues, beating the Capitals, beating the Bruins and the other good games that they had is just ignoring the facts of sports.
They can win.
Will they? I can only hope at this time.
It's up to them and they have to play their best.
Stranger things have happened.
Like who actually thought the Bruins would win the Stanley Cup in 2011 when they'd been to five since winning in both 1970 and 1972 and lost them all?
Were they a good team in 2011? yes they were. But that was not an expected result.
The fact is three of the wins they had against the Habs in the first round went to overtime.
Oh bother, I aslo saw for the first time that the Habs had a two-oh series lead and couldn't close the deal after they'd had a bittersweet run to the Conference Final the season before.
Ugh indeed.
All this to say, the game are played on the i\ce and if they play their absolute best, don't quit and mabe fina little of that old Habs' playoff magic, or Forum ghosts even, they can win.
Plus just eliminiating the Penguins would annoy the heater\s for the rest of the year.
It would take their winning the Stanley Cup to anooy them for the rest of their lives.
Please can we have this?
The Habs are owed for 1919 when the “Spanish Flu” wiped out a playoff series that was tied two all.
Okay, I have to go, really, even if I'm short oof a thousand words, I have things that I can't keep putting off.
Kuuanonnii my friends.
If I manage to harvest five fields by the end of the fourth hour of the 4th quarter regardless of the results from tonight's game between the Canadiens and the Penguins in Toronto, which is only happening because of the Virus COVID without which the season would have been over in June and the Habs would not have been involved after they lost 8 games straight twice and five games just to twist the knife on a season that would have ended horribly after the high point of them being a team with the 4th best record in Eastern Conference after a November game against the Capitals.
And that was when the season turned.
But this is not about them, this is about me dammit.
If I can do in this timed thirty minutes something of the like that I did in the 3rd, which was to harvest 7 rows, then I'll be assured of harvesting four fields by eight and once I do that, I like my chances of harvesting that final field in the next two hours.
Even though it is Hamburger Saturday and I will be enjoying said supper and nervously watching the Habs agssnt the Penguins even if they somehow opened up a 4 goal lead on them.
Hey, I believe they can win, but taking that kind of lead would not be safe.
He smiled and took it making a gesture of rubbing his belly like he was going to enjoy and I still felt like the exchange was in my favour.
So I did what I'd never done before and reached into my wallet to pull out a five dollar bill because that at least made me feel better about this wonder laden gift that he had given me which felt like a priceless gift.
Not that I knew what what was going to happen when I made the gesture on the paper that I was going to use, but giving him the money was the right thing to do because I couldn't afford more.
But he made a face and his smile disappeared as he wagged his finger at me in the most emphatic no gesture that anyone had ever made to me.
I held onto my wallet hoping that he would smile again and let me give him the money but he wasn't having any of it.
I didn't harvest as much in the seven o'clock hour as I was hoping to and needed to write deep into the eight o'clock hour to give Mortuvhen a 500 word day for the 63rd of the past 65 days.
Is shouldn't be terribly surprised though because it's not like I can just automatically write a thousand words in a n hour like can drop a verse of poetry at any time.
Now, I didn't say that I couldn't go out if I failed to harvest five fielods, but with the Habs starting at eight o'clock, they won't be finished the game until half past ten, which is nothing in normal times, but is something in the time of a Pandemic, which is what we are in.
It's also the reason why the Habs made it the playoffs this season then they've sucked since November.
So the best that I can hope for is to leave here at half past ten, if there's no overtime and half about 75 minutes of drink and draw time.
Is that enough?
Especially when the harvest is more important than drink and draw time qt one of the pubs I frequent when it's not like I'm going to siit besiude a single attractive woman who's going to take one look at me and say we should talk because she likes the cut of my gib and when she likes the vut of a man's gib, she wants to that man in short order..
I don't even know if I could write that into a story since that's never happened to me.
At least in real life.
So am I going to go out tonight when the game will be in the thrid period when I'll be wanting to go out when I just now chundered my way past the harvesting of the fourth field deep into the fourth hour of the 4th quarter.
Staying in seems like the most likely thing.
Unles the Habs open up a 5-0 lead which I think the habs could hold in the final period.
Though this was a stupid season for the Habs so even a 5-0 lead in the 3rd would not be the safest thing with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malking on other team.
And the Habs' recent history.
Then again, ten years ago the Habs won a series against the Penguins when they were one easeon removed from winning their third Stanley Cup.
But it's still only a 1-0 lead and what are the chances that the Habs are going to shut out the Penguins tonight?
Or that the Penguins can't score at least two goals?
Not good.
So I ain't going to talking the Habs up.
It's only 1-0 and the Penguins have won two of the past four Stanley Cups.
It's still only 1-0 no matter what the score currently says.
So how long until the Penguins score now that I've talked the Habs up?
Ugh if that's the case.
Not long at all as the Penguins scored and it is now 2-1 Montreal.
Oh well, who had the Canadiens scoring the first two goals?
Not me.
Now as long as the Penguins didn't just signal their plan to come back and and score three staight goals which would suck out all the energy the Habs have gained though into the second period.
Oh bother.
Now it's a penalty for the Canadiens.
Is it the second period where the Habs fall apart?
“Well, it was nice while it lasted eh? They had a 2-0 lead and hadn't showed their stupid face that they've showed so often on the way to posting two eight game losing streaks in the season which is a neat trick. If you're any of the other teams in the league and love seeing the Habs suck.”
“Now wait a minute, it's still 2-1 and even if the Penguins do tie it up on this power play it would just 2-2 and the Habvs can reset and not let this be the start of a goals against streak that would sink them and giove the Penguins the all important first win in the first game in a short series.”
Well, now it's 2-2, that the signal of another Habs' collapse, mark my words. The Penguins are going to score again and make it 3-2 with plenty of time to play in the second which is all the goal they will need as the Habs will sink and lose 4-2. At least.”
These are some of the thoughts that are not far from the forefront of my thoughts as the Habs are decades removed form their decades of glory and years removed from a complete season which didn't end poorly.
What could have been in 2015-2016 is something that we will never know because Carey Price got injured twice, with the second time being totally unnecessary as they should have rested him in Edmonton where he has sucked throughout his career.
And this is where tweeting about the Habs could blow up in my face if some asshat Penguins' fan comes a tweeting at me with raucous laughter and says whatever Habs' fan, the Penguins are going to take the lead this period and bury the Habs in the 3rd.
Now I'm a little upset as the Habs just took another penalty and the last three penalties have all been taken by the Habs.
Is this a case of stupid is as stupid does? That's a great way to blow a game that you led 2-0 not too many minutes ago.
And do I really need to harvest ve fields on the first day of August?
No I don't.
Just as I don't need to watch the end of a game which has suddenly seen the ice get tipped in favour of the other team.
Especially if the Penguins score on this power play.
Then again, I've just passed the harvest of 48 rows for the day so I am going to stay until I've harvested the 50 rows that I wanted to.
Oh bother. This game was so much more enjoyable to be much listening to when it was 1-0 and 2-0.
But at least they didn't score on the last of the three straight penalties.
None of which were any kind of bad calls, which does happen,
No, The Habs were full measure, to the bad on all three of those penalties and only suffered on on one of them.
Each team has now won a period.
Can the Habs win the third and the game.
Tune in tomorrow as I will be headed out.
Of this I am almost certain. I just have to harvest the last of the row and ideally on thios page.
But that didn't happen.
Though I can change the font to make that the reality.
Tick tick tick.
I am so dang close to the harvest of that fifth nfield of the day and being ready to go out, even though the game is still unresolved.
But I am pvring it and that is reason enough when it has turned against the Habs.
Yes, I know, that's bad fandom on my part.
Boo me.
I'm out.
The writing of this quarter is now done. I have my five fields harvested.