Not Hemingway.... expanded a bit in These titles mean nothing.

He had one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced, or seemed to face, the whole external world for an instant and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself.

This is Nick's impression of Gatsby by Fitzgerald.

I found it today when I went back in 750words to see what I'd written a year ago.

I do that most days. I miss OD of course for its storage of ten years of my past but 750words gives me a more reliably intense picture of exactly a year ago.

My daily life consisted of my job and of OD. They were not all of my life but they were anchors and stability. I could count of them and I did. I believed they would last - if not forever - then for the foreseeable future. I would continue going to work at KG and I would continue writing in OD - for as long as I wanted to.

Both disappeared - quickly, almost painlessly. There one day, gone the next.

They shook up my life. They were losses.

I don't mean to whine. I'm not the world's biggest whiner. I don't even think I'm in the top third. But I suppose we all whine when it's something we give ourselves permission to whine about.

Enough of that.

Here's a pic.

And here's another.

And another.

My new $1600 tooth is the fourth from the middle going to the right looking at me.

Bits and pieces, answers to questions, asked and unasked:

1> The ICT and I had a good day. I wasn't always paying enough attention when I was shifting and the truck and I both got a few surprises but we survived.

2> Blood donating went well. I have a lot of hemoglobin and my blood pressure was 124/84. The nurse said the 100 limit on blood sugar was unrealistic and was being used to scare people into taking unnecessary drugs. The blood taker was Scotty and he was a card. Lots of capability, including the high school boys who escorted between the cots and the lunch table and the ladies who dispensed the after needle-work treats. I got involved in a conversation with a woman who is in the process of moving from McGregor to Spillville and I overstayed my limit. I resolve to do that again next time.

3> Nice call from the kids for my big holiday. I talked to three out of the four of them. And now I can't remember what we talked about. Damn.
(Expansion: I remembered a little. Katie has a stocking cap knitting machine and is making stocking caps. I told her I would look for some yarn I think I have. Will is playing basketball and his social life is expanding. Turns out having something in common helps start conversations. Molly is shedding. John is bidding fireproofing the new Vikings stadium. Deb is mowing lawn and wishing the mower pushed easier.)

4> More about me. My advanced age is requiring me to shave. Weekly, I think would be ideal. Coarse black and white hairs in the corners above my mouth. Thin white strands on my neck. A clump of bristles that come out of a mole-like thing on my cheek. And general outliers. I can forget to really look at myself and I can miss them until suddenly, my face is an untended garden.

5> I've been pulling weeds. I think I'll go pull some more. And water and feed the deck plants.
(Expansion: I have some tiny poppy seedlings coming in the new flower bed. I hope they can get established and become self-seeding. I planted shasta daisy seeds at the same time and nothing has shown up yet. I wanted one double plant and these are just singles so I guess I don't care a lot. Hey!!! Big news! There is a tiny new shoot coming out of the base of the pea tree. I don't want to jinx it by talking about it, so let's quietly wish it good luck.)

6> I MIGHT fold up the leaf in the kitchen table and make it smaller and bring the rocking chair out from the living room. With the table smaller, the rocking chair fits in the space in front of the closet door. It's my grandmother's Sheboygan rocking chair. It has a pressed wood back and a caned seat. There are a lot of stories connected with it and I can visualize a lot of people sitting in it. So it would be nice if it came back.

7> Wouldn't it be nice to have Gatsby's smile?

(Expansion: 8> I suppose. I've been watching the eagles this weekend. They are big, much bigger than their parents, and they are getting ready to blow this popstand. The take little flying hops across the nest. The gnats are bothering them. When they are still I can see the gnats on their heads and they make tick-like motions to get them to leave. The parents are bringing them live prey so they can kill it themselves. That's pretty exciting. I bet they're hungry. I bet they wonder what life will be like then they finally take off on their own. Think how difficult it would be. I think there is a dried up fawn's skin in the nest. They worry that from time to time. http://www.ustream.tv/decoraheagles

There goes my band width- actually it's my download that has limits. Same thing, I guess. )