Several pieces caught my eye, but the item that started the dominoes falling was a rustic, wooden, outdoor bench, painted black but artificially weathered so as to have faded, almost white, streaks. I've always wanted a bench for the outdoors, whether on a front porch, patio, or even out in the yard proper. Something to sit on while listening to the birds (or lawn mowers and hedge clippers, which produce their own music), watching sunsets and falling leaves, and feeling cool breezes. Not something to put on the pitiful square concrete apron in front of my apartment, where things occasionally disappear.
Add to that the actual reason I went to Sutherland's (and Lowe's): Buying bricks, planks, and cinder blocks to make real, solid, and cheap bookcases. Too long have I used plastic shelves that bend and even collapse under the weight of hardbacks. Each one, also, being of a different size, width, and height, resulting in a chaotic landscape of printed matter. Boards and cinder blocks may seem sophomoric, but they are of uniform size, and they are sturdy. Looking at them makes me wonder how they would look in a permanent environment -- a house of one's own.
A third boost to determination came when I decided I couldn't go any longer without re-reading one of my favorite books -- The Crystal Gryphon, by Andre Norton. It's the archetypal fantasy, as far as I'm concerned (apologies to Tolkien), and probably the best written of Andre's 200 books. I imagine Crystal -- and the rest of my Norton collection -- and all my other volumes -- sitting on those sturdy (but cheap) shelves among pieces of comfortable (if rustic) furniture, in a home of my own (with a bench just outside on the patio). It's an image to aim for.
*****
Today is Wednesday, June 24, 2015. John Keel, Loren Coleman, and other fortean authors have pointed out that strange things tend to happen on the 24th of the month, especially June 24. (For instance, the Kenneth Arnold UFO sighting, which gave the world the term "flying saucers," took place on June 24, 1947). Add to that the claim that more UFOs (and other paranormal phenomena) are witnessed on Wednesdays than any other day of the week, and surely something weird ought to happen today.
Is it true? I don''t know. In my wasted youth I did go cruising around the countryside each year on the night of June 24, just to see if anything happened . . . nothing ever did.
Well, I actually went out and looked for a new job today . . . that's pretty unbelievable . . .
