Untethered....

Saw a short video the other day of a guy who'd figured out how to release his frustrations - he grabbed a baseball bat, went to a tether ball pole, pounded the ball one way with his bat, then pounded it the other way as it came around. And then he repeated, repeated, repeated.

I likes me some tether ball... but I remember back in the day when your hand would hit the metal fastener holding the ball to the rope and it hurt like crazy.

Marriage is, can be, kinda sorta like tether ball - and before I'm announced as the world's biggest pig, lemme explain. When one is tethered, it means they can run an idea by their mate to see if the logic floats. "No Herkimer, that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard," or, "Do whatever in the heck you wanna Gertrude" might be two answers.

When ya ain't gotta partner, you can still play tether ball - but you lose the sounding board of sanity.

So, logically deducting, I guess that means I'm insane. Oh well. Ha. Or, as one from the past put it "Victor, not everyone gets as all fired up about your ideas as you do." Mebbe that's why one day she rode off on a Harley, I dunno.

So, my idea today is short, and no, I ain't preaching. Just a suggestion.

A buddy o' mine, 40-something, lives/works here, lost his pa last year, his ma lives a couple States away. Of course one is devastated by the loss of a parent, particularly when it happens as young as 40-something. (Many, sadly, aren't even that lucky.) This dude loved his father - and he loves loves loves his mother too. She is his world.

One Miller Lite into our conversation, this buddy asked me how I planned to spend my week. "Same ole same ole, hopefully a lotta golf, and I hope visits with grandkids." "Cool." Then, being the complete idiot I can be (scroll to insane), I forgot to ask him what he was gonna do this week.

One Miller Lite later, I asked him. "Eh, nothing much, work, work, work." Untethered, I had an idea. "I think a goal for you this week would be to sit down and write your mom a letter to tell her how much you love her, and why that is." - Oh Vic, I talk to my mom WAY more than most people talk to their folks. - Knowing him, I knew that was probably true - but - untethered, I pressed on "Yeah but, I think it would be really cool, to grab pen and paper, and in your own handwriting, compose, cry if ya wanna, dote all ya wanna, slip it in an envelope, go buy a stamp and mail it to her."

Oh, I might do that. Untethered, "no, do that!.. Can't you just imagine her getting that letter in the mail, and how proud/happy she would be to read it? I could just see her keeping it in an end table drawer, and getting it out to reread whenever she needs a feel good, proud moment." Ya know Vic, that's a good idea, I WILL do that this week, a promise.

He then winged a compliment and it made me forget all about tether ball, lack of having another person to bounce ideas off of.

So, later, I was washing dishes, and it Dawned on me (pun mebbe intended.) "Victor, you're so high and mighty on your damn self that you mebbe had a good idea, WHYINTHEHELL don't you do it too?" This is beginning to be a soap opera. (Pun mebbe intended.)

So I'm gonna. We email. We text. We sometimes call. WE NEVER WRITE. I'm gonna pick four or five folks that I can envision being happy to fetch a handwritten letter outta their mailbox - and do just that, write a handwritten letter, seal it in an envelope, addy it, stamp it, and drop it in the mailbox.

Untethered. No parking by the sewer sign, hot dog, my razor broke, water dripping up the spout, but I don't care, let it all hang out. (Which is fancy for "untethered", it may not be a good idea, but I'm gonna do it.)

Another thought just came to mind. Heaven help us Victor, don't you remember "Victor, not everyone gets as all fired up about your ideas as you do." Yeah I do, but, just throwing this out, untethered, to all my married buddies. What better than handwriting a letter to your wife for no reason (not your anniversary, not her birthday, yada), seal that sucker, addy it, buy/affix stamp, mail it. Who knows, it might get you laid. (Sorry, scroll to untethered.)

Happy Tether ball. Don't hit your hand on that metal thingy. Makes it kinda hard to write.

Love, Victurd