The power of words is amazing. For me it brings relaxation, peace, clarity…and all the opposites.

Words can hurt, they can bring joy, they can give and take. Words are a variable narrative to fit the moment; one minute full of a definite emotion the next, meaningless conjecture.

I have not been physically ill since 1997, the time my father passed away to another world and now after going through something very difficult, the sickness hits again. Soon it will pass though and this body will continue its journey.

***

The jeep was made in 1947  by a company named, Willy’s. Flat fender, flat hood, flat windshield…it was the representation of a flat world lost in simpler times.

World War II had run its course leaving a planet to heal and find new balance. This jeep was one of those representing the moment. It was simple, durable, and a survivor. So much a survivor that even leaping years into the future to the tumultuous times of 2016 it was still a 1947 jeep.

Near a town named Elk City the jeep now sat in a shed that was just about as old as the jeep, a shed filled with cracked windows, missing windows, old boards old smells, and filled with modern tools and ancient ideas.

“Does it still work?” a man asked the owner.

“Oh yes, runs great. Even the original capstan winch works,” came the reply by the smiling man. “Had it out a few days ago getting wood.”

Outside the shed was a fitting environment for the jeep. The hills were rugged and sharp covered with old logging roads perfect for the jeep to traverse. Next to the shed old shrubbery clung to the very rocky soil which in turn clung to a stubborn planet.

A small creek ran next to the shed as it had been running for hundreds of years before the jeep and shed were even a concept. Just a bit farther upstream the water cascaded over a sheer rock face, pooling at the bottom where steelhead tried to leap the falls during their spawning run but were unable.

The whole scene was peaceful. An old jeep still secure with its place in the world. An old shed still providing shelter. A creek running free and unencumbered. And to add spice to the whole scene, peacocks strutted as they had free range of the fallen oak leaves.

In a flat world, it was nice to see tranquility even if only for a moment.