Time

" You cannot feel time grind against you. Time is nothing but everything, not the seconds, minutes, hours, days, years. Yet this substanceless substance, this bending and shaping, this warping, this is the way we understand our world."

Erdrich, Louise. The Night Watchman . Harper. Kindle Edition. 

     It happened like this. At the recent consignment auction held in Sinai, I bid on an old tractor mower. It needed some work but I thought that could be a good winter project for me to futz with in my garage. The bidding went beyond what I was willing to pay. After it was sold, Dale, ambled over and said "I have one I will sell you."  After buying it I discovered with a 9' sickle bar it wouldn't go through the garage door. It's made a good project this week but just outside the garage.

     The technology of the mower is not something with which I was familiar. Dale said "You attach this chain and that is how it lifts."  With the chain attached it would lift but not lower. Hum....tried a number of different chain lengths but either it wouldn't lift or wouldn't lower.  Yesterday, I gave up and gave it time.

     Overnight I thought "What would happen if I attached the chain to a lower point on the tractor?"  When I tried that this morning...the problem was solved. Sometimes it's just best to walk away for awhile. Take time.......

     What is time like for you during this pandemic?  Erdrich's comment on time in The Night Watchman is an astute observation. "...this is the way we understand our world."  When I think about Joanne, her death, the presence of absence, life in the land of grief, it is often in the context of time. How long since... when we... when she... Every day I look for the egret in the pond and wonder how long? when?  An African commented "You missionaries have watches we Africans have time."

Takk for alt,

Al

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                                                           The mower.