Reprieve
“It Wouldn’t Kill Me” by Jeff CarsonThe snow has finally stopped falling. The skies are blue. The sun is shining – though it is not even 20 degrees F. The Boy has dug us out with a snow blower attachment for the tractor. The snowplows and road graders have opened the interstate and the highway that run near our farmyard. I have been to town for vital supplies such as toilet paper and milk. Banana is in town swimming at the Y and Muffin is currently enjoying hot Ovaltine with a little friend we brought back out with us. They spent the past hour or so playing outside in a huge snow bank and digging a snow fort. The dogs are ecstatic to have someone new to sniff and coerce mini-marshmallows from.
“Carrying Your Love With Me” by George Strait
I saw George Strait in concert a few years ago at an outdoor concert with about 40,000 other people. I enjoyed every single second of it, except for the 20 minutes I spent dealing with about 10 idiot drunks in front of me. I had a nice little buzz on from an afternoon of sipping Lynchburg lemonade, but I was not an obnoxious asshole trying to get the attention of the cameras so as to show my tits on the “jumbo-tron screen.” Good god – I do not think I have ever been that drunk.
“Superbeast (Girl On A Motercycle Mix)” by Rob Zombie
I was buzzing enough to tell them to f-off and to shove their stupidity up their a—es, provided they could find them. (I even gave them a hint and mentioned the lump on top of their shoulders.) I must have looked a lot tougher than I was because they moved on to another section. The night, other than that, was absolutely perfect. The evening was calm, hot and typically August on the prairie. The stars were out and brilliant, my lemonade was strong and chilled and I did not have to worry about driving anywhere as we were camping 500 yards away – easily within staggering distance. That is the only way to do all day, multi-entertainer concerts – with a fully stocked camper…and an icy stare, sharp tongue and 15 friends backing you up.
“Don’t Close Your Eyes” by Alan Jackson (originally by Keith Whitley)
I love George Strait. He is such a gentleman. A real rancher. Did you know he even competes in team penning events, keeps a stable of horses and spends as much time as he can OFF the road to be with his wife and son? I admire that – that and his uncanny ability to choose songs, record them in a way that makes them his and his alone, and put on a show that is about the music…not the pyrotechnics that often times goes with concerts. A true, old-fashioned entertainer, that man.
“The First Cut Is The Deepest” by Sheryl Crow
The best way to cook just about anything is with a cast iron skillet. My mother-in-law gave me the one I use now, and I use it almost every single day. Sometimes twice a day – like today, we had grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch and I browned the hamburger in it for chili tonight. A few years ago for Mother’s Day, The Boy gave me a Rival Slo-Cooker, which is what I am using to ‘stew’ the chili. At the time, I was not impressed with it as a gift, but it has become another one of my favorite kitchen things. Much like the “dust buster” my dad gave to my mother for Christmas one year. She was not impressed with it at the time, but used the hell out of it.
“The Road And The Radio” by Kenny Chesney
My mother has an old, well-seasoned and much loved set of progressively larger cast iron skillets – what to they call that – a “nesting” set? I am thinking that isn’t right, but they have been promised to me along with her Le Creuset cookware and the contents of her jewelry box. She worries about such things and actually had my brother and me go through the house with a sheet of sticky dots – the kind people use to mark prices on garage sale items – with our initials on them and “mark” the things in the house we want when she is gone.
“Good Times Roll” by the Cars
Good God, that was hard. My brother and I kinda wandered around the house, smiled awkwardly at each other, and never did it. The exercise got us thinking though, and we talked about it. We have agreed we will not fight over possessions, but when the time comes, we will be honest in saying what we want. Mom has a house full of antiques that she has collected, refinished and restored herself.
“Free Fallin’” by Tom Petty
When my dad’s maternal grandmother died I was a little girl, but I remember the tension that permeated the atmosphere of the house after she died. Toward the end of her life, apparently, great-granny had each of the branches of her family come to visit and promised each of the cousins’ different pieces of furniture and keepsakes, but nothing was written down or documented in something that made sense – like a will.
“No Questions Asked” by Fleetwood Mac
The brass bed with the feather tic was promised to every cousin at different times. So was an old-fashioned mantle clock that chimed like a church bell every 15 minutes. So were the bone china, ancient silver set, handmade (by my great-grand poppa) buffet and china cabinet. So was the antique hand-carved cuckoo clock she brought with her from Germany to Russia, across the ocean to New York and over half the distance of the United States in a covered wagon. After great-granny died, the cousins, including my father’s sisters, descended upon her house like so many vultures.
“I Will Be Heard” by Hatebreed
Dad has great-granny’s marriage certificate – ornately inscribed in German calligraphy and signed with a quill – framed under glass. And that is all. A few years ago, my mother found a near replica of the mantle clock, which was the only thing my dad had hoped for, though he had been promised so much more. His eyes were teary when he opened that Christmas present.
“How You Remind Me” by Nickleback
That’s enough talk of “what happens when my parents are gone” for a sunny Saturday afternoon.
“You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone” by Brooks & Dunn
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