I enjoyed a glass of rose cabernet sauvignon while reading The Adventures of Tom Sawyer after a lengthy day of laundry and cleaning. After months of drinking rarely and irregularly, it seems that a small glass of wine is sufficient to elevate me to a buzz that is the same level I needed at least 3-4 glasses to attain when in California. Amazing. Despite being stuffed more than any Thaksgiving dinner, courtesy of my Kenyan neighbours, I slept soundly enough considering the three midnight trips to the toilet.
This morning, I woke to the gentle glow of the dawning sun. I wondered why I often failed to truly absorb the beauty and power of the dusks and dawns in California but then the Valley’s obstructive walls trickled into memory. I still felt the weight of last night’s gargantuan dinner, so I decided to simply have a mango to break my nightly fast. Even now, 20 minutes after cutting the mango open, they are jumping. The mango had a soft spot which revealed brown mush with maggots squirming in delight. Putting the riddled parts aside, I enjoyed the fruit. Midway, my heart nearly jumped up through my throat as one of the little half-inch long larvae jumped up to hit my cheek. It was then that I noticed the others littered across the floor, some jumping 6 inches forward towards imaginary safety. I marveled at their feats for a little while before ending the future egg-laying-in-clothes-which’d-end-up-as-larvae-spewing-out-of-my-skin mango flies’ lives.
Today’s agenda: wash all blankets and sheets. At least I’m finding that I can tolerate to wash more things. Who knows, maybe soon I’ll be able to wash faster!