Fred pretty much only eats a raman noodle dish of his own creation. I'm not sure of all the ingredients and measurements, but there are kidney beans (his cupboard shelf is stacked with cans of them); a variety of fiery Asian sauces not meant for the weak-willed (I'm thinking of you, Billy) ; and, of course, the coup de grace: raman noodles. There's more to the operation ( possibly even less) - mushrooms? meat? - but one thing is sure: he eats this dish for breakfast and dinner just about every day. I don't know what he does for lunch. Anyway, the point is he loves this meal, derives great satisfaction from it, and while it concerns me how much sodium he's taking in (read the back of a raman noodle package - holy effin shit!), I'm happy he's maximizing the simple pleasures of life. We take whatever joy we can find in this vale of tears.
John Zorn's Film Works plays in the background. It recalls the days of merrymaking and kinship at our Dinsmore house in the distant hills of Nashua, NH. Those were some times. I was there at the end, when the house was sold from under us. Villains! Ah, but nothing lasts, child, nothing lasts.
Today was the last of the string of warm days; I appreciated the respite from the pervasive chill; now it's back to the frosty, bleak realities of winter. Time to put the heat on. I grew up in a house with two fireplaces. It wasn't often we had a fire - my dad seemed to think it was too much work, though he'd never admit as much - but I fondly recall how much I enjoyed having them. Sitting by a fire is a powerful meditation, an activity that runs thick in our veins the same as it did when we were more ape than man. Tell anyone who's never been camping how sublime it is to sit around a fire and they probably won't relate. Tell them about the enchanted language of fire, of it's hypnotic beckoning, and while they're listing a hundred and ten things they'd rather do, they're concurrently judging you as a bit touched in the head. So be it. In the meantime, I'm thinking it might be a smashing idea to appeal to my parents that we have a fire going on Christmas. Maybe even some chestnuts. How seasonal!
I still haven't watched the latest episode of The Walking Dead. I'll do so tonight if time permits. I'm a little sleepy; maybe I'll just do some reading and call it a night. Ah, but that's probably not going to be the way of it; I'll likely stay up longer than is necessary as I often do.
See you on the flippity-flip, you lonesome nightingales.
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