it was a weird day, that tuesday.
it was cold, even though it was the middle of july.
there wasn’t a wind, or a cold front, but more like a cold radiating from the earth – internal cold.
almost as if the earth’s core froze.
the day went downhill from there.
all my clocks, watches, even sundials stopped working.
i looked at my watch, it still said a quarter of 8, so i decided to not go to work.
i guess my boss had the same idea, ‘cause i saw him at the coffee shoppe.
i ate lunch with him, even though it was still a quarter to eight.
at the end of the meal, he insisted he pay my tab, too.
i graciously accepted, over coffee we talked.
he said he liked my idea on a theme park of dirt, after all, and we’d start working on it right away, even if we were in accounting.
then he gave me a raise.
i smiled as i left, but when i got outside i stopped.
the ground started shaking, like an earthquake.
a big crack formed in the street, a crevice of ice and frozen lava.
i decided to go to the park
i passed the old woman on the bench feeding hand-outs to small pigs.
the had wings.
a small one even perched on her hat with a squeal of joy.
around a quarter of 8 i decided to leave.
on the way to my apartment, i saw a lottery ticket on the ground.
no one was around, so i picked it up.
i stopped in the convenience store at the base of my building to get a soda.
as i checked out, the clerk saw the ticket in my breast pocked.
he asked if won, and i told him didn’t know, hadn’t seen the drawing, or the papers yet.
he told me the winning combination.
i looked at my new possession only to find i was the winner of $5 million a year for 10 years, after taxes.
wow.
i was happy.
i gave the store clerk an i.o.u. for $10,000 for telling me the numbers.
he was happy, too.
i went home.
there was a cat just outside the elevator, meowing sadly.
i stopped to scratch it under the chin.
all of a sudden it walked off and jumped up, hitting the “down” button.
when the elevator came, the cat asked me if i could push the 1st floor button, because it was just out of jumping range.
i said sure.
just before the door closed, he said thanks.
“no problem” i replied.
i went to my apartment, and put my meal in the microwave.
when it was done, i sat down and watched the 7:45 news.
the reporters had a lot to say.
apparently all the rivers and lakes were absorbed into the ground and froze.
the mountains on the california coast broke off, and tumbled into the sea.
california is now an island.
when the sun set, at a quarter to 8, i went to the roof to watch the stars.
odd thing was, there weren’t any!
none at all.
not even the sun.
but there was a blue moon, large and shining.
after a while i got tired of trying to count that, so i went in.
i took a shower, then turned in at a quarter of eight.
yes, it was a weird day, the day you said you didn’t love me anymore.