precarious

Have you ever bought those sherbert deals from Costco that are inside of real fruit shells? This used to be one of those, but is now our soap dish. It falls into the sink all the time on account of having a round bottom. I don't care though; I like images of precariousness, because they seem the truest of images.

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I'm sorry to report that little Bonus found himself in Chickie Heaven a bit earlier than his comrades. He put forth a strong effort, initially improving by leaps and bounds from how he arrived. But by the end of his second day here, it was clear he wasn't going to make it. Bonus didn't realize that the quickest way to get someplace is to walk forward as opposed to backward, and he attempted to sleep standing up, with his beak down to the ground for stability. He continued to lay down in his water instead of drink it, getting weaker and weaker until he was an object of pecking by the others. He was, eventually, a very pathetic sight.

When I saw this button on my nightstand, I thought of Bonus, who at the time was still alive but on the edge. Unfortunately, when I grabbed for the button, it fell to the ground. Despite our best attempts, Bonus fell too. Everything falls. Everything is precarious, most notably you and I. Which is, I suppose one reason why we need grace and should readily bestow it upon each other.

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Last Saturday my family went to the Penguin Plunge in Whitefish, a fund-raiser for the Special Olympics. My Pops jumped with the Police Dept, as he is a Chaplain. Each group took its turn standing on the edge of the dock and jumping into ice cold water.

My very favorite moment was when the Special Olympic team stood preparing to jump. The crowd did the usual count of One - Two - Three! but they just stood on the dock. "Three!" we all yelled again. Pause. Pause. "Three!!! Jump!!!" Finally they did, all but one. She stood in her ill-fitted swimsuit and looked at the water, face wrinkled in a cry. We waited. Soon we began to cheer. "Come on!! You can do it!" A long minute went by. It could've gone either way. She could've walked back down the dock and gotten into her warm clothes. But she jumped. In she went, mouth agape with surprise. And of course, the crowd went wild.

the frozen lake