The busy life of a not too retiring man, Pt. 4

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I must confess that Part 1 and Part 3 are very satisfying posts in a row. This one is about a crow but it begins with a French lesson, Dutch Elm and an update on a sociopath. In twenty minutes my paint crew is going to show up so maybe I can dispense with the prologue and get to the crow this afternoon….its a good story.

So, last night I decided to take a walk. Six hours of painting fine detail on a wall needed to be walked off. So I put on my ear buds to listen to Radio Nantes while I walked…(a French station) I had listened to Audible all day as I painted….more French language stuff.

I didn’t get far before I noticed a small circular tag affixed to a very tall tree. As I got on my knees to take a picture the homeowner stepped out to walk her dog. We had a short conversation about the tree and she asked me if the tag described it as an American elm tree. It did. I told her my hometown of Topeka, Kansas was full of Elms when I was a kid that were busy dying of Dutch elm. I mentioned that in my mother’s generation a blight killed off American Chestnut trees as Ash trees now are succumbing to the Ash borer.

I continued on my way to Ordean East and decided to take a little walk around the school … My painters came and now I want to get to La La Land. I will be back to eat some crow…..or rather free some crow and deal with some sociopathy.

About the author

Harry is a ferociously good natured eccentric in Duluth Minnesota who detests traitors dressed up as Uncle Sam. You can find somewhat better edited writings of his at the Duluth Reader "contributors." page. The URL is:

https://duluthreader.com/contributors/h/84/284-harry-welty