He’s like a billy goat gruff Which I guess makes me the troll, hiding under my bridge. This comforting trip trap of R wandering up the stairs reminds me I’m not alone. Hey buddy Come over to the door Just not inside. Such is the nature of isolating at home. He’s masked, I’m masked. He’s …
Author Archives: Radutti
Sometimes Hockey
I stare The implications are not lost If they win this next couple they’ll have the longest win streak in team history Such is my focus tonight Elephant and Rhino have had a day. COVID tests and a PCR swab New normal eh As it turns out, these tests are positive. And as it turns …
Shoulder Season
It seems warm tonight Yeah. There’s like a three day window where people don’t complain about the weather. I make a mental note to really enjoy those three days. The sounds of 45 young footballers drilling fades as I slide my eyes back down to the page. I need to finish the last few pages …
Pixie Dust Kombucha
The magic stares me in the face as I peep the chill tray. Where did those come from? Have we been visited by fairies? Home is a slumbering place these days. No coming, or going. No exits, or entrances. No ins, No outs. I scan for pixie dust, which everyone knows is the universally accepted …
Garbage Day
Why in anyone’s right mind would someone choose to get up at this hour? The dream is a bad one. Mercifully, the relentless hammering of my alarm interrupts its flow, demanding and redirecting my focus, draining the Sandman of power I can’t quite put my finger on what the dream was about. Weird I almost …
Scarlet Letter
We’re in day two of isolation when the doorbell rings. I throw on my mask, unlock the door, and peer through the slats in our gate. The gentleman holds papers in his hand. There are only a few possibilities, having lived here for a couple years. A utility notice. Request for donations. Or what I …
Rhinitis
Rhino has always had allergies. Late night allergies. Enough of the time that I think nothing of it when he sniffles up, loading tissues like a t-shirt cannon. We think it’s mostly dust, stirred up in the evenings when we turn the ceiling fan on in his room. The first couple minutes are fine but …
Speedbump
The announcement arrives at 5pm On a Friday. I’m moments out of a 45-minute plus 30-minute avalanche of info, parent meeting plus internal logistics of safely reopening. An exhausting week of planning, replanning, planning again. Managing the safe reentry of 450 kids in the midst of of a pandemic is no longer easy. It probably …
Cool
Crust. That’s the best way to describe the feeling the exposed parts of your face take on. They become crust. An unrelentingly cold prairie morning, sun blazing, rapping my mittens against the tetherball pole to see how the flakes of ice would shatter, then slither. I am so f***ing cold But fully awake, and this …
ba muoi mot
I breeze past the woman straining to hoist the baby onto her back, weighing whether it makes sense to stop and help. nah She’ll be fine And as I catch a glimpse of her in my rear view, doing just that. I remember Rhino and Elephant, gently snuggling them in, at different times, to the …
Get Up Eight 