Wednesday, October 01, 2008

The Purple Stapler

I woke up almost late. Not quite. But not early enough to lounge in my jammies. Have two cups of coffee and daydream.

And so I rebelled.

I camped out on the porch smoking cigarettes and sipping one cup of coffee, coloring tiny matchbook size scraps of paper, watching the sun rise. From where I parked my fanny I couldn't see the only clock in the house on the near~right time. I could only kinda tell the time by the world around me...The footsteps of the lanky 9 year old across the street, running, book bag heavy, chasing the dotted lines on the street. The tires of the bus grinding to an unexpected halt. "Yeah, he made it Dad!" Three little birds dumpster diving in my garbage cans, splashing in the unexpected puddle on the lids. The cats, stretching, raking their little paws on the screens....fingernails on a chalkboard Monday through Friday, but ahhhh, if it's Saturday, we're just stretching....

And then....

I raced....

Jumped in the shower...

Left with wet hair.

Rat packed into the city...did the nine to five plus some...and played bumper car home.

I yanked open the screen door and there on the worn out carpet ,tossed carelessly, lay the teeny weeny little matchbook size scribbles of the morning. I stepped over the color and went to fetch the stapler. All I needed was the little purple stapler and walah! somethin' out of an accidental nothin'... a teeny weeny notebook....

But it wasn't where it was supposed to be. It wasn't in the kitchen cabinets. Under the couch. It wasn't in the bathroom. The pass the trash Christmas Closet. It wasn't in my underwear drawer or the guest bedroom. It wasn't in little house or the laundrey room. It wasn't with the pots and pans or the kitty litter. It wasn't anywhere.

I pulled out the flashlight and looked in corners, emptied drawers, tumped out boxes....

But it wasn't anywhere...

And I cried.

I could go without making my house payment, skip breakfast and dinner, wear clothes still wet from the line...
but I needed that little purple stapler....

to make
something
outa
nothing....

Funny, but it was the laughter I remember....
And I miss that.....

17 comments:

skinnylittleblonde said...

Oh....I miss you so much ... the laughter and the continuous sumthin's outta nothins...losing it all, over and over again and making something outta nothing, over and over again...may our circle remain unbroken...
we don't need any staplers, really, to hold it together...that's what we are for.
ILYSVFM

Maithri said...

You knit the world together...

The Tick tock madness
and the Wild
Unexpected exhale

with
silver words

like a sticky web
dipped in honeyed dew

Who needs a stapler

when

You

are the
only
electric connection
we need,

Love to you, M

Lola Starr said...

Funny how those little things can sometimes hold it all together for us....and making something out of nothing is such the continuous story of our lives. I know the feeling, if I lost my favorite pen or notebook, I'd lose it altogether. But you are AWESOME and all will be okay. :) Much love, much peace.

(I have bronchitis and am on lots of meds right now, sorry if this makes no sense! Just a disclaimer. ;))

singleton said...

sweetsweetskinny....And there you were, hundreds of miles of telephone line tangled up between us.....saying Helllllllloooooooh...in the middle of my freak out, saying Ta!Dah! at just the right time....bringing me full circle....ILYSVVM....
And the dress is the bomb, isn't it?

Oh Maithri....And here you see me in real life....
a wild~child lightning bolt, zigzagzigging in and out of everyday life
and daydreams....
wading waist deep in dark blue surf,
swimming in hurricanes,
and then almost drowning when
the tiniest little leaf brushed by....

Ahhhhhh......Stevie Wonder! Much love sweet friend!

Karma....Smiling! Your meds, my beer, our minds think alike! Hoping you feel better sooon, soon, soon ~ wish I could tote you some of that good ole southern chicken noodle soup.....

Peace~love
and
laughter,
we gotta rememember to laugh!

i beati said...

I could walk by a thousand cell phones, or tvs or whatevers but I better not lose my "Cupid Ain't Stupid "Pin above my desk !!!!

singleton said...

Ibeati! So sweet! And nope, Cupid Aint Stupid.....:)

Anonymous said...

from someone who has laughed with you many many times, we are still here with you in spirit and we are alive and willl laugh again, love yyou forever. Lindalou

~Babs said...

In whichever technicolor,,,you ARE the stapler, Singleton,,,,,look around you, and feel the light.

singleton said...

Lindaloulou...
I love you!
Yes I do!
And I miss,missmissmisssmissyou!

Babs....
I do feel the light....
And you girl,
the candle glowing!

Peace~love sweet girls

Unknown said...

I lost one of my favourite pins from my bag while riding the bus. Since then, I always sit in the exact same position. Hoping I'd see it lodged between the seats. Hoping...

skinnylittleblonde said...

Psssst!!!
less than 48 hours baby!!!!
IMYSVFM...

singleton said...

electric....
Honest to goodness. I know EXACTLY how you feel! If it makes you feel any better, I've collected hundreds of pens, and toted everyone of them home, pens with advertisements, pens on parking lot floors, hand me down colored markers, glow in the dark ink wells, pencils from Mr. Joe's stash....And I know every one of them by heart....the way they feel in my hand, the color of the ink, if they erase or don't....I freak when they finally run out of ink, can't imagine the hissy I'd fit if I lost one!

Skinny...
Counting.....
24 baby!

Peace~love my friends,
off for a week~end of peace....
of love....
of "if I close my eyes and listen to the laughter and the breeze, I'd think we were at the beach"!

SHE said...

another mini masterpiece! love it..

i prioritize much the same way; make time for daydreams, rush through showers

treasure hunt for purple staplers in tears

and laugh often.. my place is so small.. just had it, touched it, saw it

where the hell is it?

and life is good again when i make time for the next daydream, and set my camera down where i'll need to hunt for it again

"to artists, poets, bloggers, dreamers -employed in creativity between jobs"

love, ~s.

Ultra Toast Mosha God said...

You will have to get another stapler and paint it. I expect your house is a riot of split-second creative outpourings scattered about the walls and surfaces.

kj said...

i miss you...

:)

Chris Benjamin said...

sad little ending. it wasn't a swingline per chance? regardless, i know the feeling, not quite last straw but more strategically located straw that pulls it all down around you. but, it always gathers itself up again, don't it?

singleton said...

She...
To the next daydream!
Bless you sweet girl....
How did you know that that is what I lost afterall?
Peace, my friend, and dreams....
Again...

Ultra....You've seen my walls? LOL! Everywhere.......
And PS, I have staplers everywhere now....
And yes, they'll have to be painted...

KJ...And I've missed you, too. Thought about you, and where did the months go....and the art show in your back yard....
It's a long road from lost....to found.....

Benji....Clink! To the gathering. To making peace from broken straws!

Peace~love Friends
I've missed you all....