An Overflow of All Kinds
The public schools were let out early because the water was rising so quickly. No roads flooded down my neck of the South Toe River Valley but I parked on the bridge this morning to watch the water run and noted the total absence of riverbank. Driving down the east side of the river, a passenger in my car was literally spitting distance from the lapping edges of the swollen river. We’ve seen this before around here but that doesn’t mean we don’t take pause.
This first tropical storm to hit our part of the state officially marks the end of summer in my book. In less than forty-eight hours, splotches of green mold have birthed themselves on the yellow pine beams that support the cabin (yes, indoors). Tiny spores speckle my backpack. I had to toss a bag of grits out because the fuzz clung to the outside of the paper sack like magnets. This part of the mountains is, after all, a temperate rainforest. I decide that Sunday will be a day given to cleaning and I’ll have to build a fire in the woodstove to dry things out. A little vinegar and water and some dried kindling (that I gathered this summer, thankfully) should to the trick.
Meantime life seems to keep on swelling with good fortune. I get another freelance gig, this one longer term that will pay what a good writer deserves. I take the Martin guitar into the specialist (a ninety minute drive, thank you) and he buffs the sad finish stains away within five minutes. We talk shop for an hour, he teaches me the science of his profession, and I leave the Martin with him for some life-extending neck work and touch ups. My car goes into the shop again (a better mechanic this time) but only for two belts – a problem I was able to diagnose on my own and was therefore certain not to get ripped off. I picked it up today and didn’t have to grind my teeth when I wrote the check.
Sometimes I am astonished with the generosity that the universe is hurling my direction. It seems abundant, like the rivers with their overflow right now. I start looking for ways to give back and make a plan for a very special gift for dad that will take months to complete. I get a few trinkets for a stressed out friend. I give a grumpy woman my new copy of an easy-reading magazine. I try to remember to thank the friends in my life who have supported me and helped me get to where I am.
