Conversations

With Trinidad....

"Oh! That blue jay just caught a snake." Trinidad's face falls, then relaxes into calm. "Well, I guess that soon all the cats in the neighborhood will be over to catch the blue jays, and before you know it we'll have mountain lions coming through the backyard to eat the cats. They do come into town, you know." He's right about this.

"Mmmm," I say. "Two days ago, I saw an enormous hawk take a jay baby out of a nest in the tree across the street in front of M's house. That jay mama threw up such a squawking! The hawk flew it's dinner over to that big tree next door and ate it."

"What? There's a jay nest in M's tree? He thought it was too big to be a bird nest. He thought it was an abandoned squirrel nest!" Trinidad's whole body grows and tenses with the news. "I am so excited! I am going over there right now so we can climb up and take a look at it."

On tree climbing:

Trinidad told me this while we drove through country south of Roseburg. His words floated from the backseat like a meditation rising from the hot Earth, herself. I tried to jot down phrases soonafter, but I doubt I did justice to the poetry of his words in the moment, or the relief and satisfaction that I felt in his safety and meaningful pursuits.

"I know my foot on any tree," he said. "Each tree tells me which branch to grab and which limb to step on. Every tree is challenging in it's own way and every tree is easy in it's own way. The thing that is easiest about one tree is the hardest thing in another. They are individuals and I learn them while I climb. As I move up in the trees, I listen for where to hold and I know that the tree is guiding me in the safest way. Each tree moves differently and I must move with it, as only it moves. It teaches me something new every time. Each time I climb a tree it is like the first time, but we also remember that we know each other."


With Sam....

"I knew that was why the sky is blue," said Sam quietly after we read an in-depth explanation of atmosphere and light on the internet.

"You did? Why didn't you tell me so when I asked?"

"Because I wanted to make you think I was more like a kid. So I didn't get over myself."



~Sometimes, I think that "wide-eyed" is just my natural state.~