Maybe it’s the time of year. Or the challenges we are all facing with uncertainties that are out of our control. Or just the fact that sometime Slim Randles gets very thoughtful in what he writes. He is more than a humorist after all, and through the years that I’ve gotten to know him by reading his columns and books, I have the highest regard for where his thoughtfulness takes us.
What is your comfort food as we all hunker down and maintain social distancing? I’ve been trying to avoid sweets and junk food. Really so not good for this old body, but I did obsess over wanting pineapple upside down cake for Easter. I couldn’t even get a pineapple at the supermarket, so I got a donut. It did ease my frustration. So I thought we could all share some now while we read Slim’s post. Enjoy the read and the treat.
There’s something so satisfying about getting out of bed when the world is still dark and quiet and resting. Making the coffee gives us time to scratch and think. Well, scratch, anyway. Most of that thinking will start after about the third cup.
But it’s a quiet time. A private time. When the world is dark, and there isn’t yet a hint of pink over the eastern mountains, it’s very good. We can relax. No one is expecting anything from us right now. Our guilt can take some time off, and we can listen to music or work a crossword puzzle or turn on the TV and watch the weather guy discuss millibars and troughs.
Soon enough, we’ll have to be out there living for others: our bosses, our customers, our animals, our fields. But right now no one needs us except the dog, and she does well on kibbles and an ear rumple.
We can look out the window at the eastern glow and wonder what will happen in the hours until our world turns dark again. People will be born and people will die.
People will win honors and people will go to jail. People will create things today that live past them and people will disappear forever. Some people will write about these things and other people will read about these things.
And then the world will go dark on us again, and we’ll think about what happened in our tiny portion of this huge moving amalgam. And, hopefully, we’ll sleep easily tonight.
Then, when we arise tomorrow and head for the coffee pot, we can think about what happened today, and how it has made us slightly different for taking on the next tomorrow.
Come to us, Daylight. Bring us the new day. But do it gently, please, and slowly enough for one more cup of coffee.
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Brought to you by “Home Country with Slim Randles.” Check your local classic country music station for broadcast times.
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In addition to hosting a radio show, Slim Randles writes the nationally syndicated column, “Home Country” that is featured in 380 newspapers across the country. He is also the author of a number of books including Saddle Up: A Cowboy Guide to Writing. That title, and others, are published by LPD Press. If you enjoy his columns here on the blog, you might want to check out the book Home Country. It features some of the best of the columns he has shared with us, as well as the 4 million readers of the newspapers where his columns appear.
This is beautiful. It is exactly how my farmer husband started each day. I will dry my tears now and have a donut!
I knew the essay would resonate with you, Jan. I remember those mornings at your place when David would come in from his morning ritual. I loved the same ritual at my little farm in East Texas, too. Special times and special memories.