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2012-04-23 - 7:41 a.m.

weekend travel

1. the flight attendant is a tiny, precise man with slicked-back hair like a hornbill's casque. i cannot tell if his cowboy boots are culturally appropriate or a sort of affectation.

2. in boston, unlike raleigh, the women wearing workout gear actually look like they participate in some fitness activity.

3. he's stopped dead in the middle of the sidewalk, pointing up at something with his head tipped back. he is wearing a ball cap, wranglers and a t-shirt that - god help me - has "KEEPIN' IT RURAL" printed across the back. it's the most midwestern thing i've ever seen.

4. out on the water, a couple of kids are perched on the hull of their overturned sailboat. a woman in a kayak paddles over to offer them a cell phone in a ziploc bag.

5. in the bed and breakfast, one of the flowers in the wallpaper looks like an aghast ghost.

6. at copp's hill, she crouches down to take a picture of a death's head and a winged soul side-by-side, marking the transition to a more hopeful theology. as she rises to her feet, she puts her hand to her side and breathes a long, controlled exhale. he's there in two quick steps, and she takes his hand, brings it to her stomach, smiles. the baby had just kicked her in the ribs.

7. i barely see my sister for even a minute.

8. our flight home is delayed, and delayed again. i work math problems from an introductory textbook and eat carrot sticks and apple slices from a plastic bag. eventually, my husband meets me at the arrivals gate with a hot sandwich and a rain jacket.

* * *


reading: from the mouth of the whale, by sjon.
listening to: the fishtank filter.
working on: another abstract.
in the garden: the poker lily's flower spike is gradually reddening. i grew this plant from seeds.


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