Fish in the Rear-view

4^th January 2012

Dear Cassi,

There come times in my life that I know myself to be a masochist. Today was a day of that nature as I chose to chastise myself for my failings in the nature of a long walk. It began as the simple need to take my car to have the oil changed.

       

It was on my way there that the computer told me that the oil had breathed its last, and needed change. For the duration of the car ride the miles counted ticking away as if a bomb would go off under my hood.

       

I arrived at my mechanic to find the building abandoned and had no option but to return to the shop that had worked on my old car and caused my buying a new one. The building there had long been left still but this because they had flourished rather than wilted and now needed a bigger facility. 

       

When I arrived at this new shop with its white walls and red door, so much

like a hospital to me, I learned that I would have to wait passed normal business open for a supervisor. Still in uniform and with the breath of the night on me with its stale body odors I found an eatery to settle a hunger I did not have.

       

The was a feel to this place I well understood as I watched the aquariums that kept lonely patroness company on cold mornings like this. I ate paid and left but knew the day was long from over.

Stay strong, little sister,

Richard Leland Neal