I don’t mind telling you that I am a little shell-shocked this morning, Campadres. I have been in a blur of emotional travel, as you have probably observed, and have been a little in denial about what I saw in Michigan.

The trip to Commencement at Mt. Holyoke was a positive affirmation of the value of life and the beauty and grace of youth. Michigan was not.

I am not the only one traveling. My sainted Sister Anook is stage-managing the circus back in the little Village by the Bay. I had meant to complete the damage inventory of what was compromised in the North Korean capture of the USS Pueblo, but we will get to that. Life interfered, and for reasons that will become apparent, I had to occupy my morning some other way.

To frame this account, of chaos, I need you envision along with me, the chaos in the handsome compound on the bluff above the Bay in far-away Michigan. There is a painting crew in the main house; plastic tarps and displaced furniture. A piano is pulled out from its hulking place by the wall.

The one-car garage attached to the main house was filled to the top with crap from the crawl-space downstairs. Since Raven and Magpie are the last of their generation alive, they were magnets for ancestral crap that had to be cleaned out of other abodes, and now is one large aggregation of useless objects, a trove of plastic superseded technology.

My sister Anook is up there dealing with it, and attempting to take Magpie on a little vacation to get her away from Raven and give her a break. Magpie asked me a couple weeks ago if we had a name for the man she was staying with, so this is unraveling in every direction.

Anook wrote about what was going on up there, in the third-person, to help save her sanity. Here it is:

“Anook had put out 30 large garbage bags to the driveway of useless items before the Moving Company came to the house.  Today was curb day.

The Little City by the Bay offers the citizens 4 days a year to unload useless items and today was one of them.  The painting crew had plastic-wrapped most of the first floor, readying the house for a painting facelift.  Anook had already taken 24 bags of endless closet items to the Good Will.  Anook wasn’t fast enough to get everything before it became encircled by plastic – but she did well.

Anook had the movers bring up the contents of the unfinished basement two months ago up to the house garage.  Anook went through all the contents with the movers as to what went to the curb and what went to the other garage for sorting.

The Moving Company had done well with every other call Anook had placed with them the past year – but today – the “foreman” was extra nice to Anook.  Apparently he took a shine to Son #1 the last go-around.  Son #1 was military and should be shown respect.

Anook came out at one point to witness a man and his son inventorying the contents of the house garage.  Anook was not pleased.  The man asked to see a painter “Bob.”  Anook went back to the crew and asked “Bob” to come out.  The man called her “honey” several times.  Anook did not like the man calling her “honey.”

The only one to call her “honey” was her “bunny”, David.

Anook’s goal was to have everything ready for the renovation of the kitchen, laundry room and the painting of the upstairs – less the library.  She is thinking this might just happen.

The Petoskey Moving Company moved to the curb as directed.  As the afternoon closed to the evening, a large dumpster diving crowd showed up.  It was disconcerting to Anook – but she also had to deal with the moving company placing “first dibs” on things being put to the curb.

There were no less than twenty people digging through the “dumpster” in front of our home.  When Anook tried to drive out – there was ¼ ton truck blocking her way.

The dumpster-divers took at least half of what was put out.  They ripped through the trash bags and left the area trashed.  The washing machine and dryer were gone.

One lady came to the door and asked if anything else was coming out for them to pick over.

Anook is creeped out.

On the other level of life – the one at Potemkin Village- Raven mostly sleeps, and when he sleeps he has no control over his bladder.

Raven sleeps and then wakes in a pool of his pee.

Anook has scheduled the couch (mostly inhibited by mice the last 20 years) to be removed as well as the matching chair to be replaced by “wet resistant” new option for the oldsters.

Anook bought an additional “cover” to the bed, as well as an additional blanket as well as additional Sheets.

Today’s goal was cleaning the apartment above the new garage also known as the BIG TOP.  Anook also stored all irrelevant pieces/parts from the basement to Raven’s office so the cleaning crew could sweep the downstairs.  These cleaning gals were terrific.  It was so nice to go downstairs and not deal with dust bunnies and hanging webs.  One of the cleaner’s daughters was there on the call.  Mother/Daughter was really interested in renting BIG TOP.

Anook said she would bring this up with her brothers.

The reality outside was something al together different. While Anook and the movers had put out a clean assemblage of useless things to the curb – overnight the front yard had become a disaster area of torn bags, emptied boxes, added junk, and crap strewn across the yard.  The dumpster-divers had ravaged the inventory for city pick up.

While Anook was with her parents during lunch, the city left a notice saying they would not pick up because the area was a mess.  Anook called the city and they told her she was responsible for the area as she was the property owner.  Anook had to clean out the area or be fined.

Anook having spent too many hours the day before – in addition to the moving guys – was distraught.  Anook did not count on having to repackage the disarray; much less pull it back to the house. Anook could not believe this was her Village By the Bay.

In her hour of despair, one of the cleaning women came out and starting bagging the mess.   The next-door neighbor came out and started bagging the mess.  Anook told them they did not need to do this, but they kept working. Anook had to leave to have dinner with the parents. Anook told the good people who were working, that the movers would be back to take care of the chaos.  The crew and neighbors continued. Anook drove away to Potemkin Village.

Raven was full out on the pee-stained couch.  Magpie was buried in a book.  Anook received several calls from Alaska that needed her attention.  Anook was unable to get the right phone numbers without having access to her computer.  Anook ordered trays up to the room as Raven was out cold.

Anook filled the tank for the vacation trip planned for tomorrow.  As Anook went through her inventory of needed things, she realized she did not have Big Mama’s passport.  As the majority of the vacation was to be in Canada, this was a problem.  For the 8th call of the day to her brother, Anook expressed her concern over not being able to take Big Mama to Canada.  1st Son thought he had her passport and could Fed-X to Detroit.

Anook drove home and found the whole curb cleared. THIS WAS NOT AN EASY TASK   Anook went next door to ask if they were responsible for taking on project Petoskey.  While Anook was gone, friends of Raven & Magpie, the Movers, and the beloved neighbors had taken on the task.

Anook was offered a glass of wine and she accepted.

The good neighbors chatted with Anook.  Like Anook, they were Alaskans for several years.  Mike-the-neighbor said he was working on the roof of his house.  Anook asked him if he was a roofer – he said no – but they had a contact for a professional roofer.  Anook told them there was a problem with the new garage roof.  They knew all about it as Raven and Big Mama had a problem with raccoons three years before.
Anook said she would share this with her brothers.  Raccoons could have ruined the roof.
Anook is tired.  Anook is somewhat sure Raven is dying – soon.  His eyes are clouded and he would rather sleep and pee than anything else.

What next for Magpie?”

I closed the note on the computer and hit “reply” and began to type.

“Anook,

Mom’s passport is not here. I ransacked my place last night and then did a thorough square-search again this morning. I found all my records going back two years in various places, along with all of my passports for the last forty years.

Nothing for the folks except the records I went through for two hours yesterday for the house and bills, Raven’s revoked Driver’s license, and the two cards of Mom’s credit you scotch-taped to that sheet of paper.

By chance, and with the hunt to gain valid titles to the cars and file the taxes for 2010, I had gone through all their records in my possession yesterday before the passport alert. I do not recall bringing them here, and they were   not in the milk-crate I records I have sorted and filed here.

Maybe in safe deposit box- but I have seen them since we have been to the bank and think it is likely that when sited they were in the assorted records in the laundry room that I plowed through trying to find the auto documentation to get the titles. I do not think they are in the safe deposit box, but if you would like I can Fedex what I think is one of two keys I have.

Sorry.

Vic”

Crap. Why didn’t I get more done when I was up there?

If the passports don’t turn up, Magpie will not be able to travel to Canada, or rather, if she gets in, she won’t be able to come back. It is another mystery, and another crisis. And I knew the roof had to be replaced on the Big Top, but damn, the building is only eight years old. WTF?

And since this experience does not come with an instruction manual, what if Raven is dying? It struck me when I was there two week ago, that he was shutting down and leaving us. But what if he is on the way out like right now? What do we do?

Crap.

Copyright Anook and Vic 2011
www.vicsocotra.com