The wind is howling again. I’m sitting here at 8 pm with wet hair, tempting fate. If the power goes out, I’m in deep weeds courting a cold. I like to live on the edge.
Except, not all that much—living on the edge. Today, with the rain and the wind and the misery, OH MY, I’m not liking on the edge one little bit. There are other edges of the world, edges further South, edges with sun baked sand, warm mostly tropical edges calling my name.
After 2.5 years the novelty of living in the Wild West has worn off. December damned us all, I tell you. That’s a month I don’t want to relive—and I bet if the Baby Jesus had any idea it was going to be hell month, he would have been born in March. It’s not that I’m completely discontent here–because I’m not. It’s that my heart isn’t in the rain and the wind and the misery. It’s really not in the fact I can’t get a freakin’ contractor to come out and fix my roof. Which has caused us to coin a new phrase— every time we bump into another one of Astoria’s idiosyncrasies, IZ and I look at each other and say, “What are you gonna do? Freakin’ Astoria.”
It’s like that. And that’s the way it is.
But then there are moments. Standing on my tangy porch in the darkness of December ending, listening to an orchestra of ships sing in the New Year. Wind howling, blowing through my thin sweater, chilling me to the bone, and a warm arm around my shoulders. A crowded river on a clear night, the town a natural amphitheater, listening to a score that could only be written for a New Year. It could be a Dvorak symphony, this odd harmony floating up from the water. Everything glistening new. Everything promising hope. In that moment, all is well.
The trick is stringing those moments together. . . until I don’t have to any more.
Yes, freakin Astoria – where the video rental store had a handwritten sign in the FOREIGN film section: FILMS NOT IN ENGLISH – subtitled only… according to the manager, people still don’t get it…
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Oh my. This gives me a new idea for a regular blog post. 😀 ~W
How ironic that I’m now in a more tropical clime…and still longing to be back in Oregon! It was more like 2.5 DAYS when the novelty wore off for me here. Still, you gotta do what you gotta do, and no one benefits from my wallowing. This post title resonates very deeply with me…”until then.” (‘then’ being many different things to different people)
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Stacey, if you were any place but Texas I’d trade you. 😀 ~W
Thats the fun of living in a place like Astoria right? The shared glances and rolling of eyes…right? This is what I tell myself about living in my town…where I’ve been for many years now, because I can’t think of a “better” place? Oh…maybe I’m just lazy and scared. The funny thing is, whenever I leave, I always feel relieved to come “home” again…
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This last time I came “home” was the first time I didn’t feel the relief. I think that might say something, eh? ~W
Brookdale is similar, I think..
We are okay here but between inevitable power outages. I am rushing to get things together before the new blackout.. But we are safe and dry.
Thanks for thinking of me.. I hope you get the 2008 Miracle Of The Available Contractor.
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Oh, me too! Me too!! I’m glad you’re OK in this big storm of yours. The news is just terrible! ~W
Stormy again??I would get tired of the stress. Las Vegas is not my style, but in spite of some rain, it’s pretty calm.
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It will be less stressful when my roof is fixed and has hurricane clamps on it. ~W
Pahleeze! I’m a PNW girl stuck in the Middle. No mountains, no ocean (Lake Michigan is NOT LIKE the ocean), the worst drivers I’ve ever seen (yes, worse than Portland drivers), when I say I’m from Washington, people say, “oh, DC?”. Yeah, NO! If I was FROM DC, I’d SAY DC. Ok, I’m over that. I do hope your weather gets better soon. You guys have been hammered enough! I’ll do a little sun dance for you!! 🙂
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See, I love the Middle. But IZ is a Santa Barbara boy and the 20 months we spent in PA nearly killed him. He needs a body of water nearby. Preferably the Ocean. And not the Atlantic. ~W