[Bordermarch] My Joy

[Lathrop, Dave]

Greetings Bordermarch,

I would like share my joy with all.

I went nite-nite at around 11:30 last night. That's quite a bit later than usual but I became engrossed in a movie about a Russian ship that Donald Sutherland and his tugboat crew found abandoned in International waters. Donald decided to tow it in for salvage but an anchor fell through the tug and sunk it.
They soon found that the Russian ship's high tech experimental gear was infected with an electrical type of virus that felt that humans were the virus.
The virus thing made robots out of spare parts on the ship and combined them with spare parts from the dead Russian crew members.
The combo man/machine things attacked Donald's crew and converted some of them into combo things.
I never finished watching the show because I was tired and alone, Elisabeth had given up the ghost earlier in the evening.

With the alarm set for 4:00am, my usual leave-time for work, I fell into a dreamless stupor.

The alarm went off, but when I rose to get dressed I was really, really tired. I figured it must have been the stress of not knowing if Donald survived his encounter with the combo things.
I also performed my morning ritual that consists of looking out the window to see if my car had been stolen during the night; it was still there.

I was heading out the door when I had the good sense to glanced at the bedside alarm clock, I noticed that it displayed "1:30" in big red easy-to-read numbers.
My first thought was to ignore it, but I decided to check it out real quick like.

I compared the time on the clock with my phone's time and they matched!
I then ran into the kitchen and checked the coffee maker and the microwave's clock, they also matched the alarm clock!
Since I was completely wiped out from all the running, I sort of shuffled to the computer to turn it on and check it's time, it matched the alarm clock!

I became really sad when I realized that my alarm clock had misfired by about 2.5 hours too early.
I could either continue on to work and stop at the Waffle House in Lumberton to sip on a cup of coffee for 2.5 hours or I could go back to bed;---I went to bed.

Restful slumber eluded me for 2.5 hours and then the alarm clock went off!

Now here is the joy I want to share;
My alarm clock seems to have healed itself because it went off right on the money; 4:00am!

I popped right out of bed and started whistling a happy tune, all the while making preparations to head off to work. It was 4:00am and by God! all was right with the world!

I couldn't wait to grab a quick bite from the fridge before I left so I ate a spoonful of leftover cold Sloppy-Joe stuff, it was DELICIOUS!!! and quite nutritious to boot!
Making sure I did not lick the spoon entirely clean, I threw it into the sink because Elisabeth really enjoys washing my dirty spoons when she gets home for work.

With a belly satiated by the Sloppy-Joe stuff I burst through the abode's front portal and step-danced my way into a place of early morning dark shadows and intrigue.
I cautiously approached the legendary "Bridge of Illusions"; today appearing for all the world to be flat circular sections of pine tree about four inches thick, set into the ground in a quasi straight line by giants.
The illuminations from the distant and sparse lightning flashes managed to overpower and pass through the dense, sodden mat of blackish green foliage belonging to the forest trees. My journey across the "Bridge of Illusion" would be fraught with danger! One missed step might throw my balance off just enough to make me windmill my arms and toss my car keys in the process.

I made it across the "Bridge of Illusion" with nary a thought of Betty White intruding into my mind. I was greeted on the other side of the bridge by Elisabeth's shape shifting Guardian, "Bella".
The Guardian sniffed my leg before it would let me pass. It seemed satisfied with my smell and tried to wave me on, but it had forgotten it had taken on a dog-shape. Instead of waving, it shook its wet dog hair and soaked me! Embarrassed, the dog-shaped Guardian sulked off into the darkness without apologizing to me.

With the Bridge behind me I was now standing smack in the middle of the fabled "Courtyard of Crushed Slag". Although the Crushed Slag was fabled, it offered unsure footing to any man of my proportions.

>From my spot on the Crushed Slag I could just make out my car which was not stolen during the night. I spread my arms for balance utilizing the Kitty-Hawk maneuver that I had perfected whilst balancing on railroad tracks. I managed across the "Courtyard of Crushed Slag" without incident.

I don't remember anything after I crossed the Courtyard until a few moments ago, I fear I may have been ensorcelled by a wicked wood-spit. I do seem to recall that while in the "Courtyard of Crushed Slag" I caught a faint whiff of foulness that clung to the very edges of the dark morning breeze.
At the time I thought it was just our septic system, but now I wonder?

Sleep deprived?
I say, "Nah-Boo! Nah-Boo!, just slightly cerebral!"

HE Santiago