A Pocket Hug for the Road

The blank page stares at me again this morning, like yesterday, but I have no mocking, sarcastic comments at the ready to make light of the situation. Instead, I gaze helplessly at the screen, hoping the gears of my mind will begin to turn. A thousand ideas fly past, either too fast for me to snatch them out of the fog or incomplete, as if they died before reaching maturity. None of them can compete with the solemnity of reality. The gravity of life on Earth is far more burdensome than any one of—or all—those fleeting or unfinished ideas. Yet, still I watch the computer monitor for signs that my fingers have erupted into a flurry of activity, spilling thoughts worth considering as I emerge from countless dreams that belong to someone else. But…nothing appears. My hands—motionless, except when I am not glancing at them—look like they were carved in marble by a remarkably talented sculptor. Their wrinkles and veins and sagging skin seem almost real, but they do not betray any signs of life because…they were carved from stone that was created a million years ago. Hands frozen in time; in a perpetual state of inertia. It only makes sense, then, that the gears of my mind were created at the same time and devoid of movement. Therefore, hope for intellectual action is misplaced. Time spent wishing for stone to come to life is time wasted.

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I should have spent the last little while packing, instead of ruminating about matters over which I have limited control. Packing for a short trip, though, does not take long. Clothes take the least time. Pills and snacks (mandarins and celery and hummus and grape tomatoes and such) require more thought about placement to ensure easy access.  Immediate access to facial tissues, AKA Kleenex, is especially important this morning, thanks to the recent return of nosebleeds and an overly-productive pair of nostrils. It just occurred to me that underwear, socks, travel communications devices and rechargers, toiletries, medicines, travel snacks, and other such necessities should be stored in lightweight containers suitable for “grab-and-go” packing. Even refrigerated snacks should be placed in travel packs in the refrigerator, so no additional packing would be required. Getting ready for travel would take a fraction of the time required in the absence of such gear. I suspect I could create such purpose-designed travel gear and sell it in airports and drugstores and online. The amount of money such products could bring in is mind-boggling. That cash could be our ticket out of here. Imagine, a private island in the South Pacific…swaying palms, fabulous climate, great food, and enough military-grade protective weaponry to dissuade the most aggressive super-power from even attempting an incursion onto its shores.

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I will be carrying a very important pocket hug with me on this trip. Depending on a variety of factors, I may or may not blog for the next several days. If not, I’ll label my time away as a mental sabbatical.