Category Archives: Fayetteville

Animals, Behavior, Fayetteville, Lemon Moment, Personal, Psychology

Regret

02/26/2024 X Teri Leave a comment

Yesterday morning, I watched an older lady painfully collect her bags from the EZ Mart counter. When I left, I rolled down my window and offered her a ride. I could see the look of distrust in her eyes. She said thank you and immediately turned away. She struggled with the bags as she walked.

Today as I left the worst convenience store in the history of mankind, another older lady seemed to be talking to me from a distance as I drove away. Because my car has ancient roller windows (even though it’s a 21 model), I leaned toward the passenger side and rolled down my window. She asked me if I could give her a ride. Honestly, assuming she wanted a ride to a nearby location, I had time. It’s rare for me to hesitate. But something about her seemed off. I told her I could not. She smiled and said thank you. And then she added that she loved my purple glasses. Something about her saying something nice and adding a smile after she realized I wasn’t going to give her a ride banged a gong in my head. I’ve given plenty of rides to questionable people if I’m alone because the risk is only to me. Or them, if you know me well enough.

Love, X

PS The picture is unrelated to my story. I took it Saturday. My cat was rolling around under the tree debris as if it were catnip. He’s on lockdown again after yesterday’s shenanigans.
.

Fayetteville, Personal

A Small Adventure

11/16/2023 X Teri Leave a comment

About 1:45 this afternoon, an adventure fell into my lap. As I drove, I watched a heavily loaded flatbed semi hit the huge railroad arm and lights on the north side of the intersection of Gregg and Township. He stopped and then accelerated, tearing the entire steel assembly loose and onto the tracks. All the lights started flashing emergency. I pulled in on the opposite side of Gregg. For some reason, I had the feeling the semi was not going to stop. He turned right, heading away from Meeks and down the side road with no exit. I’m certain he did not realize there was no exit when he turned to direction. By then I was running across traffic. He turned around due to no exit and headed back toward me. Due to the weight of the semi, he couldn’t accelerate quickly. I stopped to tell the people in the Meeks parking lot what happened and that the railroad signage weighed at least a ton and would require heavy machinery to get it off the tracks. Hoping that no trains were headed from either direction, I chased the semi until he came to a stop. Whether his version is the same or not, he would not have stopped had I not offered to jump up on the step rail at the side of the cab and accompany him to wherever he was trying to go. I did not have my cape on but I was ready for more adventure if it became necessary. Paraphrasing politely, he initially claimed he did not know he had taken down the huge steel railroad sign and arm. My eyes told me a different story. Again paraphrasing the heat of the moment, I told him to wait until the police arrived.

Animals, Batesville, Fayetteville, Humor, Lemon Moment, Personal

Goats As Friends

11/04/2023 X Teri 2 Comments

It’s lovely that the goats recognize me now. I brought them both healthy and trashy treats. And this time I remembered that there would be a tumult of birds. All of us were happy. When I left, I heard the distant roar of the tourist train approaching, so I stopped at the corner and got out and leaned on the hood of my car. A small silver car passed driving erratically. The driver was angry and screaming at the passenger. The kind of anger that easily results in danger. That guy needs more goats in his life.

Fayetteville, Lemon Moment

September’s Fading

09/27/2023 X Teri Leave a comment

I walked at least quarter of a mile down the middle of the creek barefoot. It wasn’t until I hit the second thick spider web at eye level that I broke a branch off above me to wave as I walked. I felt bad for a second as soon as I hit one of the tangled webs in front of me with a stick. Two feet to one side was a lovely, thick, multicolored spider minding its own business. I broke off another leafy branch and rescued the spider to place it on the bank. Had I encountered it with my face, all thoughts of potential rescue would have been abandoned in a wild windmill of frenetic arm waving.

To say that it’s gorgeous down here in the cool water is an understatement.

Exercise, Fayetteville, Lemon Moment, Personal

Beautiful Melancholy

09/23/2023 X Teri Leave a comment

I’m not supposed to express confusing emotions on social media. I mixed an errand with an early morning walk. That was my intention. But I ended up sprinting. I waited until each breath was more difficult and then my Fitbit began to alarm, flash, and vibrate. Of course I kept going. Even harder. As often happens when you’re pushing past your natural limit, I hit the void point. For those of you who’ve never experienced it, it’s very similar to being on a jet with a steep incline that suddenly pops through the clouds. When I stopped running and resumed walking, it was impossible to look at the sunrise in the same way. Stunning. There was also a tinge of melancholy. Because I wanted so badly to turn to someone with a pointed finger, “OMG. Look!” It’s possible that they might just acknowledge such an obvious observation with a nod. Mundane sights transformed are one of my secret joys. Perhaps it might not have been so beautiful had my brain not been soaked in adrenaline.

PS I included a couple from last night because the light and color was a cliché of color.

Love, X

Fayetteville, Lemon Moment, Personal

Two Parts

09/21/2023 X Teri Leave a comment

Two Parts

If you’re going to prank people with hidden index cards…write “3 of 7” on one of them. Even if you only leave three hidden. I give you my personal guarantee that it will never occur to them that you did not leave 7 of them. Somewhere!

I went down the deep part of the creek because of the recent rains. The passersby and the background traffic receded and conceded to the bubble and roar of the creek. I spent more than an hour down in the valley where the creek dipped and pooled. I moved almost a ton of rocks for my own amusement. I walked across the fallen tree that spanned the creek. And I tried to climb a couple of the vines hanging to the bed. Worn out, I took my shirt off and lay in the cold water – and looked up into the sky above the canopy. The sun came and went, creating shadows and rainbows atop the rock crests jutting from the water.

I needed it, a connection, even if it were the cousin of such connection, which is silence in one’s mind.

Behavior, Fayetteville, Humor, Personal

Missing Hooligans

09/13/2023 X Teri Leave a comment

On an early Wednesday afternoon not long ago, a couple of miscreants disguised as wannabe drug dealers arrived at the apartment complex. They were vainly searching for one of the hooligans who previously lived below me. They banged on doors and even turned a couple of doorknobs. Their intentions were murderous. I miss the neighbors who once lived below me. Definitely Crystal Methodists and possessing an abnormal interest in homemade chemistry. Not to mention the drug dealer who lived next to me. It’s easier to write crime stories when you can make popcorn and watch it unfold in real-time. Whatever happened to the good old days when drug dealers demanded some sort of decorum? 🙂 One of the duo shouted and threatened me from the parking lot after banging a second time on my door. He promised he would return to give me an ass-kicking. I’m feeling lonely without him darkening my doorway as promised. I had a very creative surprise waiting for him. It might have even made the nightly news. The mugshot would have been glorious! Since the landlords asked me to do so, I uploaded security video of the gentlemen to the police. It was VERY tempting to add clown shoes and hats to the footage. Yes, I am sure that they are actually dangerous. (Not to books, critical thinking, polysyllabic words, or civilized behavior.) I try to remember that even people so devoid of decency have mothers. Mustachioed moms, I’m certain, the kind whose upper lips look like boiled caterpillars. If I sound carefree in my attitude, it’s due to my broken sense of danger. You can thank my Dad for a big part of that. But the reality is that danger blossoms anywhere – and at any time. The allegedly normal-looking folks tend to be as volatile as those whose appearance can best be described as “the before picture.” The ass-kicker didn’t return to my apartment complex. I’m working through the angst of missing his delightful presence. One of the surprises I had waiting was to add the music to “I Believe I Can Fly” to the footage that would have resulted. There are advantages to living on the second floor. His flight off my landing would be short, and without an in-flight meal.

PS I threw the paint can away, the best part of my pre-arranged surprise had either of the hooligans returned.

Fayetteville, Lemon Moment, Personal

Anticpation

09/08/2023 X Teri Leave a comment

I stood on the landing, capturing the background insect sounds and the lightning above. A solitary skateboarder passed about 50 yards away, the friction of his wheels echoing through the empty streets. Much of the anticipated rain is north. I’m hoping that the creeks will fill. I’ve missed the peacefulness of the cool water. I heard the first scattered and intermittent drops of rain at 3:10 a.m. I hope the clouds open before I head to work. I could really use a September early morning baptism today. X

Fayetteville, Humor, Personal, Razorback Greenway, Safety, Security

Thanks, Gomez!

08/29/2023 X Teri Leave a comment

I saw him coming up the trail access. The shadows and lighting at 2 a.m. were murky at best. His approach seemed suspicious. I’m not generally concerned about the what-ifs of such people. Someone can just as easily jump onto me from the tree canopy if they’d like. (At times, I almost wish someone would. What a story that would be.) I can run fast, and my appearance tricks people into thinking I’m Gomer. While I am no Bruce Lee, I can snatch someone bald-headed faster than they can say “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.” I say “hello” or wave to everyone. I’d probably wave “howdy” to the Queen if she came sightseeing.

It had to be a man approaching me or perhaps the Beauty Queen of Madison County. I realize that I am repeating myself with that comparison. My apologies to the residents of Madison County, all of whom stopped reading after the first paragraph due to lip fatigue.

As he grew closer, the light from the streetlight illuminated him more. He had one hand in his pocket, and his pace seemed off.

As he came closer, my comedic instincts took over. “Have you seen my pet llama? He got out of the backyard a few minutes ago.”

“What’s that you said? A llama?” He pronounced it oddly, like he’d grown up learning phonetics from an inebriated bingo caller.

“A llama, yes. He got out.”

He stopped in his tracks, confused. “No. Not even a dog.”

“Dang. Thanks. I can’t own dogs, though. Not after Ohio.”

I could see that the gears weren’t clicking. It was too much odd conversation. He looked back and then at me two or three times.

“Well, have a good morning. I hope my llama is okay.”

“Yeah, me too,” he said, and kept walking, this time with a stable pace. I briefly wondered what he might do if I started running toward HIM. Imagine that police report.

“Gomez, where are you?” I half-shouted, even if the residents are the nearby apartment complex heard me.

My llama Gomez didn’t materialize.

You’re welcome to use the Gomez the Llama self-defense response if you’d like.

X
.