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jdmkleinShe awoke with the feeling of someone's eyes on her. She rolled over and opened her eyes to see the dog sitting patiently on the other side of the bed with his chin on the covers. He looked so solemn and silly at the same time, she knew it was going to be a good day.
She got out of bed and itched and scratched and walked around the apartment doing a little of this and a little of that, a bit of laundry here and some dishes there, some bathroom things and some bedroom things, some breakfast stuff and some getting ready for work stuff. She tricked the dog into the kennel grabbed her bag and some water and walked out the door and thought it was going to be a good day.
She got into Emerson. For a second or three she had a bit of a fright. The starter did some weird things but on the third try, everything was ok. She got out of the car park to find the road workers hadn't blocked the exit. Emerson had made it to the top of the ramp without stalling. The a/c worked, the sun was shining, a bit of dust in the air, but by now she felt this was going to be a fact of life. She glanced at the clock, she was about 5 minutes later than normal. Traffic could become a problem the closer she got to work. Then she let her eyes drift along the instrument panel to the gas gauge. The needle was in the middle of the E. She had cash in her purse, and there was a fuel station on the way to the office. Not a problem. She was still plenty early, she'd get there before the exam started. She still felt it was going to be a good day.
She missed the first traffic light on the way to work. She had to sit through it twice. But that wasn't a bad thing. She looked at the world around her and found two small bits of unexpected beauty. A plant, dry from lack of water, it's flower an explosion of feathery threads backed by spikey leaves that made the whole thing appear as the sun, and a sparrow peaking at a piece of nan someone had carelessly tossed aside. A small world she thought. A hearty bird, the sparrow. Any place in the world she had been, she had seen them. Small and drab, but survivors. And she thought it was going to be a good day.
Missing the first traffic light had an unexpected benefit. By the time she finally got through, she was in a position to make the rest of the lights non-stop. So, she rationalized, one short wait was not going to cause her any grief. And she had seen the bird and the flower. She cruised along the freeway and a safe and sane speed, and waved at the convoys of trucks as she passed them by. The third convoy brought a bit of joy to her life. On the side of one big truck was the flag of her home state. For them she rolled down her window and waved. She smiled and felt good and proud and all the things a patriot feels for her own. She continued to believe it was going to be a good day.
She got in and out of the gas station in a matter of minutes. She was back on the road to work in jig time. As she pulled back onto the expressway a military cargo plane's shadow flew over her. She had this superstition that if a plane's shadow flies over you and the plane doesn't fall from the sky on top of you, it is going to be a good day.
The road to work was not as congested as she had feared. There were no accidents on her way, and she had seen no traces of recent accidents. She smiled to herself and was happy that in some small way for the other travelers on the road, today was for them also a good day.
She drove over the last flyover and saw that the last traffic light was red. She noticed a police car stopped in the intersection, its tail backed up to the light pole. She thought nothing of this. That road leads to the port. The police are often there to control traffic when convoys of trucks filled with containers off the ships leave customs. It happens all the time. Nothing to concern her head about. She still felt it was going to be a good day.
By the time she got to the intersection the light had turned green. She turned on her signal and began to make the turn. She had to slow down going through the gate because the security people were checking id's. She watched as one of the men she saw every morning motioned for a car ahead of her to pull over to the right. A man in a dishtasha and gutra walked over to the car. As this was going on, she reached for her purse, pulled out her wallet and found her id card. Given the events of the recent past, she did not find it unusual to have to show her id. She was pleased, in fact, that the government was working hard to keep the residents safe. She did not mind the wait while papers were checked and questions were asked. The security man recognized her and waved her on through, without asking for identification. She thought nothing of the check point and was glad it was going to be such a good day.
She got to the new parking lot. She was mildly surprised there were no cars. It is exam week, she rationalized. Classes are over. Students only have to be here for exams. They have 30 minutes yet. She decided it was nothing to concern herself about and parked the car and walked into the building. So far it had been a good day.
The technicians were at their desks. The cleaners were doing the final cleaning before the work day started for the others. One of the techs brought in a memo that had been put in her box late the day before. He mentioned that it was about the visiting dignitary who was coming for the graduation ceremony that morning. She smiled to herself as she thought of the bright faces of her former students getting their diplomas. She knew there was a reason for all the good feeling she had. It was commencement day. Today was going to be a good day.
Suddenly there was a furry in the hall outside her office. Five students jabbering together looking for their teacher. She thought they might have some last concerns about their exams. They stopped at her door. She looked at their faces. These were not faces of students who were looking forward to vacation. These were faces of students who were upset. These were faces of students who wanted to know if the exam would be given today or postponed. The spokesperson explained. Because of the commencement ceremony today, the Emir was going to be on campus. Because there had been assassination attempts on the Emir's life in the past, only people attending the commencement ceremony were going to be allowed on campus. All classes before 11:00 were cancelled.
She wondered if her good day was over at 7:55 in the morning. It wasn't. She got the exam rescheduled with a bit of minor irritation. She interviewed a candidate for a position for the next academic year and he was approved. She did a bit of research and discovered the tempest in a teapot some teachers were trying to stir up statistically was not going to happen. When she left the office she beat the afternoon rush hour, and made every light on the way home,. When she arrived home, the road workers still had not blocked the exit to her car park. She would be able to take the dog out for his run.
THE END
She got out of bed and itched and scratched and walked around the apartment doing a little of this and a little of that, a bit of laundry here and some dishes there, some bathroom things and some bedroom things, some breakfast stuff and some getting ready for work stuff. She tricked the dog into the kennel grabbed her bag and some water and walked out the door and thought it was going to be a good day.
She got into Emerson. For a second or three she had a bit of a fright. The starter did some weird things but on the third try, everything was ok. She got out of the car park to find the road workers hadn't blocked the exit. Emerson had made it to the top of the ramp without stalling. The a/c worked, the sun was shining, a bit of dust in the air, but by now she felt this was going to be a fact of life. She glanced at the clock, she was about 5 minutes later than normal. Traffic could become a problem the closer she got to work. Then she let her eyes drift along the instrument panel to the gas gauge. The needle was in the middle of the E. She had cash in her purse, and there was a fuel station on the way to the office. Not a problem. She was still plenty early, she'd get there before the exam started. She still felt it was going to be a good day.
She missed the first traffic light on the way to work. She had to sit through it twice. But that wasn't a bad thing. She looked at the world around her and found two small bits of unexpected beauty. A plant, dry from lack of water, it's flower an explosion of feathery threads backed by spikey leaves that made the whole thing appear as the sun, and a sparrow peaking at a piece of nan someone had carelessly tossed aside. A small world she thought. A hearty bird, the sparrow. Any place in the world she had been, she had seen them. Small and drab, but survivors. And she thought it was going to be a good day.
Missing the first traffic light had an unexpected benefit. By the time she finally got through, she was in a position to make the rest of the lights non-stop. So, she rationalized, one short wait was not going to cause her any grief. And she had seen the bird and the flower. She cruised along the freeway and a safe and sane speed, and waved at the convoys of trucks as she passed them by. The third convoy brought a bit of joy to her life. On the side of one big truck was the flag of her home state. For them she rolled down her window and waved. She smiled and felt good and proud and all the things a patriot feels for her own. She continued to believe it was going to be a good day.
She got in and out of the gas station in a matter of minutes. She was back on the road to work in jig time. As she pulled back onto the expressway a military cargo plane's shadow flew over her. She had this superstition that if a plane's shadow flies over you and the plane doesn't fall from the sky on top of you, it is going to be a good day.
The road to work was not as congested as she had feared. There were no accidents on her way, and she had seen no traces of recent accidents. She smiled to herself and was happy that in some small way for the other travelers on the road, today was for them also a good day.
She drove over the last flyover and saw that the last traffic light was red. She noticed a police car stopped in the intersection, its tail backed up to the light pole. She thought nothing of this. That road leads to the port. The police are often there to control traffic when convoys of trucks filled with containers off the ships leave customs. It happens all the time. Nothing to concern her head about. She still felt it was going to be a good day.
By the time she got to the intersection the light had turned green. She turned on her signal and began to make the turn. She had to slow down going through the gate because the security people were checking id's. She watched as one of the men she saw every morning motioned for a car ahead of her to pull over to the right. A man in a dishtasha and gutra walked over to the car. As this was going on, she reached for her purse, pulled out her wallet and found her id card. Given the events of the recent past, she did not find it unusual to have to show her id. She was pleased, in fact, that the government was working hard to keep the residents safe. She did not mind the wait while papers were checked and questions were asked. The security man recognized her and waved her on through, without asking for identification. She thought nothing of the check point and was glad it was going to be such a good day.
She got to the new parking lot. She was mildly surprised there were no cars. It is exam week, she rationalized. Classes are over. Students only have to be here for exams. They have 30 minutes yet. She decided it was nothing to concern herself about and parked the car and walked into the building. So far it had been a good day.
The technicians were at their desks. The cleaners were doing the final cleaning before the work day started for the others. One of the techs brought in a memo that had been put in her box late the day before. He mentioned that it was about the visiting dignitary who was coming for the graduation ceremony that morning. She smiled to herself as she thought of the bright faces of her former students getting their diplomas. She knew there was a reason for all the good feeling she had. It was commencement day. Today was going to be a good day.
Suddenly there was a furry in the hall outside her office. Five students jabbering together looking for their teacher. She thought they might have some last concerns about their exams. They stopped at her door. She looked at their faces. These were not faces of students who were looking forward to vacation. These were faces of students who were upset. These were faces of students who wanted to know if the exam would be given today or postponed. The spokesperson explained. Because of the commencement ceremony today, the Emir was going to be on campus. Because there had been assassination attempts on the Emir's life in the past, only people attending the commencement ceremony were going to be allowed on campus. All classes before 11:00 were cancelled.
She wondered if her good day was over at 7:55 in the morning. It wasn't. She got the exam rescheduled with a bit of minor irritation. She interviewed a candidate for a position for the next academic year and he was approved. She did a bit of research and discovered the tempest in a teapot some teachers were trying to stir up statistically was not going to happen. When she left the office she beat the afternoon rush hour, and made every light on the way home,. When she arrived home, the road workers still had not blocked the exit to her car park. She would be able to take the dog out for his run.
THE END
