Dumpsters & Gorillas in the Silence

Posted on January 27, 2004 in Neighborhood

I am coming to treasure the moment when the air cleaner shuts off at noon. The first thing that I heard was the “down-the-barrel” thump of something hitting the bottom of a dumpster. What went in the trash? A floor lamp? A broken chair? Several pounds of sprouting potatoes? Old cans of food?

The next sound was the burbling jungle symphony of a delivery truck. The old greyback lurched about the neighborhood for a minute, screeched to a stop, idled silenty, and then began it’s throaty circuit out.

Snowflake, my white gorilla is dead as of November. He won’t be inspiring me to dream him animating Federal Express vans now.

He’s gone. I’m still here. I’m happy that I am not slipping back to the unhappy person that I was just a few months ago, that I can see myself getting better. I look outside and see just the usual faint haze. And blue skies. Blue skies mean integrity.