It’s the lake. A shoreline discovered by dying industry, misinformed tourists, and people like me. People connected to this town and the unforgiving nature of life near the 45th parallel. An area with seasons that range from frigid to hot, but not long enough to give any of us time to get good at living in any one of them.
It’s a cold one today. Eighteen degrees. The Husky likes it. He’s wanted to go out three times so far. This last time was to stand in the snow on the frozen ground and watch a black squirrel move from tree to tree. It’s out there, waiting for me—for anyone, I suppose—to put out sunflower seeds.
The other dog is under a blanket. Snuggled up next the kids on the couch.
There’s another squirrel. A fat, bossy, gray one. It is sitting on the roof of the garage next door. It’s waiting too. For sunflower seeds.
Me, I’m waiting for the flowers they will bring. The squirrels. The birds. They don’t get all of the seeds. Some slip down into the snow, through it, to the ground, and they wait. And wait. And wait. I think of it now, but will forget. Like I always do. It will be a happy sight when I’m mowing the lawn in the months to come. I’ll be sure to avoid them.
Feels like a good day to backroad. Hop into the 4Runner, grab coffee and go. Not sure that the family will be up to it. Bundling up and heading into the cold for a walk at Thompson’s Harbor or Rockport would be good for us. But it’s warmer inside, and everyone has the world at their fingertips. If it was the world they were looking at. My daughter is on Tik-Tok. My son plays FIFA. My wife scrolls Facebook, Amazon, and plays Candy Crush. My app of choice is Twitter. I should use it more for promoting my writing, but right now my passion is crypto. In particular, XDC. I’ve been researching it and posting about it for a long time now. I believe in the project, but you never know what’s going on behind the scenes. That’s the stuff that makes us regular people think and worry and wonder. Will I be rich one day? Have I been throwing away our time? Our money? Have I put in enough effort to reap the great reward of financial freedom?
Not that it matters. It’s fun. The digging. Unearthing information that others find useful. Like walking the shoreline, eyes moving from waves to sky to ground, looking for treasures. Petoskey stones and sea glass. Terns skimming Lake Huron as minnows move as one big speckled fish. Off against the horizon, a strange cloud, or perhaps, a ghost ship, glides West.
The eyes and mind like to play tricks. That’s why we have the heart and gut to guide us. Remember to feel. Breathe. Stretch and be thankful that you’ve done all you can to get here. Bags packed. Waiting to run.
~ cryptokj