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This is not the post you are looking for

It’s 3:26 in the afternoon as I start this post and I have every intention of making it a pretty unedited thingamabob, with the exception of typos and horrendous grammar that could conceivably slip in. I’m tired. I had intended to spend a longer period of time crafting out a polished piece, perhaps for Dads Round Table, but the day’s schedule got bumped around.

If I want to write coherently and if I want to write WELL, then 10am to 12pm is my best bet. The rest of the day, my brain’s more molasses-like. So instead of getting a polished and thought-provoking piece, you get this. Just a rambling.
Here’s the good stuff: I was able to take Monkey for a pleasant little trip to Farmer’s Market, where we got apples, soup veggies, and Mediterranean food. Sadly the dolmas had vanished by the time we got there, and the Orange Juice From Heaven as well, but Monkey was a great companion. This is notable because, although I love the bejesus out of this little guy, he’s sometimes a little banshee (can banshees be male?) on any kind of shopping trip.

I’m only slightly exaggerating. Last time I took him shopping, I had him yelling at me about how I was THE BIGGEST LIAR THAT EVER WAS AND I MUST THINK HE IS THE STUPIDEST KID AND … well, it went on for a while like that. I think the Cashier’s eyes could not have been wider. I left that store with kids in hand and my soul flat out depleted.

But. Today he was sweet, funny, and cuddly. He took the lack of OJ Manna well. I fake screamed my lament when I found out, though.

After we got home, we left shortly after to seek out a Native Plants sale somewhere East of Visalia. That didn’t work out as planned, because we drove in circles looking for the place until it was past the noontime closing hour. Decided on whim to mosey on over (via the Pathfinder) to Exeter for lunch at the Hometown Emporium, which you can’t beat in a grilled cheese contest. They just win.

After the slightly indulgent lunch, we art-hopped a few murals, looking for the hidden items. Have you been there? It’s reliable fun. One of the murals, which isn’t the best mural in town but I like it, has Darth Vader riding in a train, and C3PO replaces the Tin Man in a subtle little Wizard of Oz section of the mural. If you blink, you miss it. It’s no larger than a square foot, if that.

We took the long way home, and I studied the farms and orchards that we passed, daydreaming of a different life in which we were in such an environment more often.

That’s it. It’s not the post you are looking for, but it’s the one you get. I hope everyone’s having a day of good memories being created.

By J. Parrish Lewis

J. Parrish Lewis was born and raised in Maryland. In his youth there, he and his brother had many adventures in the dogwood forests near his home. His nostalgia for these adventures has strongly influenced his characters, their relationships, and their perspective on the world they inhabit. He moved to California’s coast to earn his degree in communications and now lives with his family in the San Joaquin Valley. Lewis is profoundly deaf and uses American Sign Language to communicate. He enjoys hazelnut coffee, captioned movies, and walking his dog.

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