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I scurry around quickly picking up exactly what I need while shopping at Costco in this strange atmosphere of where everyone wears a mask and keeping a 6-feet distance from each other.

Sometimes that means using extreme patience waiting for another to finish in the area that I want to step into for what I want to buy.

In silence they nod to me that they are finished now moving away and I nod a ‘thank you’ nod in return trying to smile politely behind my mask.

I think a particular thought process hanging in the air is working because I notice that no one has been rude or inconsiderate.

When I leave the store by way of the crates they have piled up to guide shoppers in and out of the store with as little interaction as possible, the drizzle of rain that began in my journey today has turned into serious rain falling.

I pop my umbrella open charging forward to my car, open the rear hatch and begin unloading my cart with one hand while holding the umbrella with the other until a masked woman approached me, holding her umbrella over me so I could load my car with much more ease tells me kindness is alive , healthy and ETERNAL

The navy shipped the body of my first born son home to our friendly neighborhood undertaker on a 4^th of July weekend.

A numbness covered me as I just agreed to whatever his assistant suggested we do for a wake service that he would direct and take care of the details before I halted him at wanting to have an open casket because there were no  marking on my son’s face from his car accident that took his life on a rainy Wednesday night.

Oh, no, I was not ready to face the fact that my son would no longer be calling me with his adventurous stories or sending me a birthday card and mother’s day card as he always did along with a sweet note to make it personal.

I figured I would take it slow and easy in accepting that fact because there was no rush now was there.

His pea coat hung on the trim around my living room doorway where I could see it and pass it several times a day for months on end, driving the stakes of memory into my heart, but the final irritation that drove me near crazy was his watch laying on the roll top desk with the band broken, my son’s head broken but the damn thing kept running.

How does that happen?

PROMPT WORD:  BRIDGE

We crossed the ancient stone bridge still in good repair after a century. It led us onto the path that led up to the crumbling castle of olden days. First we roamed over the tumbled stones of the castle. It brought back the memories of previous lives lived.  Afterwards we spread our quilt and laid out a romantic lunch. We talked about those recovered memories over our spread of wine, cheese, and rosemary bread.

 Rules of the hop:
Write 6 Sentences. No more. No less.
Use the current week’s prompt word.

Spring Returns ~ arlene s bice

new life happens, year after year

Summer heat weakens my knees

struggles, disappointments, rejections

Autumn comes over the horizon

warning of what is ahead, life is dying

leaves turning dark red, brown

goals not met, bumps in the road

Winter arrives on schedule, cold

snowy winds blow through my coat

bleak, despair, gloomy, failure

ah, nothing died, just a cozy sleep

a returning Spring lightens my step

as the ocean wave meets the shore

my heart, bursts with love and life

new challenges awaken my senses

Spring returns eternally!

Books & Cats ~ arlene s bice

Violet & Daisy of the Magical Bookshop

in Cascade Springs, New York

have their tuxedo cat, Emerson

Darla of the Black Cat Bookshop

in Brooklyn, New York

has her pure black Hamlet

Charlie Harris good-natured librarian

in Athena, Missisippi

has his rescued Maine Coon cat

Minnie Hamilton of the Bookmobile

cruises in Chilson, Michigan

with her rescue cat Eddie

even literary agent Jane Stuart

in the  New York publishing world

has her tortoiseshell cat Winky

By the Book @ U & I Gift Shop

in Bordentown, New Jersey

lived Jane & Lizzie Bennet

charming namesake sisters of

Pride & Prejudice fame

Jane, a black & white Manx

with no tail & high haunches

 also called a Lady because

she was, tho adventurous

a huntress, clever, smart

v-e-r-y smart

younger sister Lizzie,  tiny calico

walked delicately like a ballerina

purred as the perfect feminine feline

born with a two inch tail, kinked

opted who she cozied up to

both rescued cats of feral mom & dad

loved being in the display window of books

delighted the early morning walkers

basking in the cooing and ah-h-h ing

never disturbed or knocked over a book

loved to lay on the newspaper i was reading

curled up in front of the faux fireplace in

the reading area of the bookshop

amazed at the Christmas decorations

throughout, never broke an ornament

careful, appreciative, loving, content

sad to leave it all behind, yet looking

forward to a new adventure in

Macon, North Carolina, happy to be

where i was, big windows to watch

the deer, rabbits, fox, turkeys

still surrounded by books & art

filling the walls, a real fireplace

to curl up in front of, house

 spirits to play with,  a new life to live

more than pets, we talked together

i read to them, they purred in answers

we ate together, slept in the same big bed

even saw spirits moving through our home.

The Bedroom of My Youth ~ arlene s bice

the wood floor was painted barn red

a bureau with a mirror stood

where the door opened into it

facing the double windows

showing the tree growing

my brother Albert planted

a chair with wooden arms

sat in front of the windows

my single bed lay along the wall

to the right

a huge black & white panda bear

occupied my bed all day

waiting for me to snuggle at night

a small closet, they were all small

in those days

opened next to the bed

the panda bear was outgrown

replaced by a collection of horses

ceramic mostly, in various poses

bought with babysitting money

young movie star pictures

James Dean, Sal Mineo,

Tony Curtis, Robert Wagner

taped on the wallpaper

the summer I was 12

my mother took in a 5 year old boy

to earn money, times were tough

he moved into my room

i moved in with Mom

i lasted 2 months

i fussed & fumed

wanted my own room

needed my own room

got my own room back

whew! i had growing up to do.

no one reviews a book ere it is read

or a movie before it is over

or a dinner prior to eating it

so how to review a year after only

a quarter of it completed

a challenge for certain

where will we go from here

the year started out promising

2020 rolls over the tongue

a fine sounding year

anticipations at high level

before diving into novel coronavirus

COVID 19, scary words

fear abounds, jobs lost

families devastated, left weeping

where do we go from here

there are always positives

coming out of negatives

water is cleaner, air is purer

a note to powers in high places

will you let go of your greed

will you bring in safer ways

keep the earth healthy

let goodness overcome money

let remaining peoples live

true progress is in your hands

a challenge for certain.