Back to the Beginning - a refresher course
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, January 05, 2021 at 07:02 PM (4464 Views)
The past year has offered up some unique challenges. First and foremost, the world-wide pandemic has dramatically altered my anticipated schedule and produced a host of new circumstances to deal with. Myself, I had to endure a major surgery this spring that left me in a state of convalescence for several months. It also shifted to into the now notorious "high-risk" category for exposure to the virus. The end result of this was a self-imposed lock-down with virtually no movement outside of my rural abode. I did, however, have the opportunity to visit the home of my lost relative who passed in late 2019 and was the subject of my previous blog. I suppose under more normal conditions her house would have been sold by now, but the changing conditions on the ground have stalled the remodeling process and brought the estate disposal to a halt. So when I had a chance to revisit the property I took advantage of it. Her house was also in a somewhat rural location so I felt the risk of exposure was minimal.
The weather had turned colder and I was bundled up. I pulled into the driveway and regarded the trees with their remaining leaves and the general disarray of the front-yard. The house was empty so there were no decorations or lights beyond the motion generated security spots that still turned on after dark. It was late afternoon a week or so before Christmas. I parked and walked up to the front door. What once had been a colorful and warm location now appeared cold and still. I opened and entered the door quickly. Inside was chaotic with tools, paint supplies and boxes scattered about. The fireplace was empty. I walked to the kitchen and stood by the counter. In the past, at this point I would have had a hot cup of coffee in my hands and an offer for a selection of pies to choose from. I searched the cabinet and found some older ceramic cups and some instant coffee. I turned on a few lights and warmed up a cup, and in general felt better. After pausing to reflect on the cold and stillness, I headed purposefully for the computer room down the hallway.
I clicked the light and the room appeared. It was empty except for some painters cloths and some various debris randomly located throughout the room. My blue tub was there, but was empty. It was being used as a table of convenience and there were several coke cans and other crumbled wrappers on it. I was disappointed, I wanted to find some remnants of my Total War software but I expect at this point it had been trashed some time ago. I checked the closets and they were empty as well. I opened the curtains and regraded the view. It was a magnificent back lawn and the tree line beyond was as inviting as ever. I had not planned to walk the trail to the woods but with my primary goal stifled I opted for the walk. In the past there would have been companionship, laughter and perhaps a frisbee or football toss involved. But this time I was alone. I finished my coffee and set the cup down on the blue tub table. I closed the curtains and turned down the hall towards the garage where the door to the back patio was located. I passed several smaller storage rooms and a guest bathroom. All were filled with trash and supplies. The cleaning process and been interrupted before it could even get started.
At the end of the hallway there was a turn left and a short walk to the door. It was their I found the disks and insert. The disks were from the Medieval TW boxes and from all appearances had been used as projectiles to throw at the wall. Im not sure what shenanigans were involved but I would suppose my younger nephews would be the ones to point a finger at. The software had no value to them so they used the disks in some sort of running battle down the hallway. Or something like that. The insert, however, was in perfect condition. It was from my Medieval TW 2 box set and had the unit planner on one side. I picked it up and folded it into my coat pocket. I checked again up and down the hallway and found other disks in random locations in the storage rooms. Perhaps they had been used as mini-frisbees? In any event they had not just been dumped but scattered throughout the ground floor. After my brief survey I collected what I had found and redeposited them back into the blue tub in the computer room. I picked it up and placed it by the front door. I would take them and my carefully preserved insert back home with me.
I then took my walk.