I didn’t notice the moon last night, too busy being sick, too busy eating coffee ice cream from Cold Stone Creamery, too busy looking on the internet for a chair.
Reminds me. Dad said his brother called with a story the other day. His brother, N., had wanted a new pair of Dockers but not tan like the ones he already had. He wanted gray Dockers. One day recently N. heads out on a walk, crosses a busy street, and there as he’s crossing looks down and finds a brand new pair of gray Dockers, just his size.
I prayed for the pants and I got them, was what N. told Dad. We all gathered around the living room at Mom and Dad’s. Could it be? we wondered.
Last night I prayed to find the chair I want. I pictured noticing it among all the tables and baskets and stuff that fills those indoor flea markets and vintage shops I’ve been prowling. Then I prayed to give up my intense desire for things.
Aooooooooo. That’s a wolf howl. We went to the Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary when Dee was in the 4th grade. A family field trip. We left early, had coffee and breakfast in an art gallery/cafe in Grants. Went to the Banderas volcano and ice cave, and Jim and Dee and Em climbed into a cave while I paced nervously above ground. We drove to Inscription Rock at El Morro, and I saw the writing of a soldier with my last name. He talked about war and God, signed in the 1600s, a reminder of conquest and reconquest.
Candy Kitchen was the last stop, down miles of dirt road on Navajo Country. We got out of the car at 3:30 or so to the sound of the wolves howling. We were the only people there, had two tour guides. When Jim met Raven, Jim walked along the fence and exchanged smells with Raven, who rubbed against him twice. Once one way, once the next.
The skinny guide with moppy hair got Raven to howl, and we all howled, a small herd. Except, are wolf groupings called “herds”?
The next day Jim went to Western Warehouse at the strip mall near our house. ‘Lo and behold, Raven was outside the front, ambassador day in Albuquerque. Raven’s handler couldn’t understand why Raven was straining against the leash, pulling to greet Jim, who was still too far away to see the wolf. When Jim finally saw Raven, the handler said, Does he know you? Jim smiled, Yes, we met yesterday.
Maybe it’s because the wolf moon is over. That’s why I didn’t write about moons. I wrote about wolves.
-related to posts, Practice – Wolf Moon – 10min and What Is Your Totem Animal?
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