Perceived Threats

Maybe She does; maybe She doesn't.

That time I got stung by a scorpion, I sat on the bed in our hotel room, where Bruce snoozed peacefully, and considered my options.

We were far enough away from any likely medical rescue that, if the venom were lethal, I was basically out of luck. If so, I thought, I should probably wake Bruce up.

This past week, looking out our third floor window on a low-ceilinged, rainy afternoon, I saw a strange light in the sky that pierced the dense cloud cover. 

The light might have been something harmless; it might also have been an ICBM, what with the war in Ukraine and all. Bruce was in the basement, 42 steps below. I thought I should get him and ask him to join in the quandary, just in case.

At the corner of College and Bathurst, on my way to yoga, I noticed that a tiny old woman next to me was saying something. I leaned over and lifted my hat off my ear so I could hear her better. She'd seen a man all dressed in black. He was carrying a gun, she said. Should we be worried.

I'd seen him too. A scowling, skinny young guy with an antisocial air about him.

I smiled at her and said he was a security guard. 

That light in the sky? A construction crane. 

And the scorpion sting? Harmless. 

But, in the moment, you never know, so it's good to talk to someone if you can.

Thanks for reading!

Karen