I sat under a lodgepole tree and gave consideration to my
life. What might I consider as my mistakes? What events
and decisions were not mistakes?
I thought long, sitting there under the tree.
Of immediate contemplation.
What about resting my forearm against the muffler of a chainsaw I had just
shut-down after swinging it like a screaming sword to whack a pile of branches into
pieces?
The result a burn. That: MISTAKE.
But what beyond that?
Marrying a Vietnamese refugee: NOT
A MISTAKE.
Trying to adjust the carburetor on my 1964 my Ford Mustang: MISTAKE.
Career as an electrician: NOT
A MISTAKE.
Sitting next to the French woman while on the Li River tour boat
in Southern China: MISTAKE
Taking some kind of camera everywhere I go: NOT A MISTAKE.
Not taking photographs of people: MISTAKE.
Learning to juggle: NOT A
MISTAKE.
Stomping on ants: MISTAKE.
Stomping around the dance floor: NOT A MISTAKE.
Buying potato chips: MISTAKE.
Learning to tie my own shoes: NOT
A MISTAKE.
Trying to find value in silence: MISTAKE.
Catching the first pink light of day: NOT A MISTAKE.
—Mitchell Hegman
I would very much like to know about the French woman in China, I feel as though there is a story there.
ReplyDeleteHmmmm. Well, I can begin here with telling you she was pretty rude. Haha.
ReplyDeleteDid she speak English or do you speak French? I encountered a couple at the grocery store a couple weeks ago who were speaking German and they were MAD about the deli counter offerings, particularly because I bought chicken before they did and they had some special words about me. I turned around and said "Ich verstehe dich" (I understand you). Sudden, crashing silence.
ReplyDelete