ALFRED WINS THE DAY
Not long after arising and arranging himself in the large recliner with a cup of organic dark roast, Alfred was on the telephone to his attorney discussing the first of a dozen lawsuits. Alfred had properties in Boston that he was upgrading one at a time to gain an edge on the rental market. A few of the contractors involved in the projects were dragging their feet and he was losing money and losing reputation at the same time.
Alfred took a pull on his coffee while Bernie the attorney was mumbling encouragements on the other end of the line. Alfred’s eye wandered over to the stained-glass sculpture hanging in the window in front of him. It was an exquisite piece commissioned from Richard MacDonald, a local artist with international fame. There was a wasp walking along the inside surface of the window. He watched it for a few minutes and then refocused on Bernie’s words. The contractor was declaring that weather and the Covid-19 pandemic had interfered with delivery of materials that were needed. No work could proceed because these specific items needed to be installed as a foundation for further construction. Alfred was frustrated and feeling the loss of revenue in his bones. He had over extended his budget for the project and nothing in the news relating to production delays was encouraging.
Alfred watched the wasp some more and it seemed he was doing the same thing as the bug on the window. He imagined the wasp was wandering the glass in endless circles looking for a way toward the light. Alfred related the wasp to himself wandering the legal system in an endless search for a way out of this Covid-19 pandemic. No income, state mandated relief of rents, debts, controls. It was becoming, like the wasp, a long, meandering, losing situation that led nowhere in particular with lots of paths but no way out. Alfred then felt a sense of dread and compassion for the wasp. He wondered how long the creature had been walking the window. Something was missing from the life of the wasp. Alfred could sense this. There was no visible means of nourishment near it. No water. Nothing on the window’s surface suggested anything approaching nutrients. Alfred was engrossed in the wasp’s difficulty and Bernie was now talking to himself.
Alfred was lost in the predicament of the wasp on the window. He had watched the bug make at least a dozen or more circuits on the inside glass surface. Now the wasp was up against the top molding that surrounded the glass pane. It had its head pressed into the wood frame and was no longer moving. Alfred became alarmed. Bernie was calling his name. “Al! Al! Say something! Are you there?” “Yeah, yeah. Sorry. I got caught up in something. Can I call you right back? I’ll call you right back, Bernie.” Alfred hung up the phone and stared at the wasp. He got up and put on his reading glasses and went to it. The wasp was alive still. He could see the antenna on the head wagging around. He suspected the wasp was angry and could be dangerous. Alfred was focused on the insect’s body language and posture. He didn’t want to be stung by getting too close. He came up with a plan.
It was a good plan. The entry way to the house was adjacent to the large window with the Richard MacDonald stained glass sculpture. Alfred opened the door and propped it open against accidental closure. He checked the wasp. It was still stationary up against the molding between the window pane and the sculpture. Alfred checked the distance from the bug to the sculpture and adjusted his plan. He retrieved his Amex platinum card from his Tom Ford alligator money clip. Then he took down one of the Glencairn whiskey snifters from above his bar. From there it was simply an age-old process to capture the wayward wasp. He slipped the snifter over the creature and gently passed the platinum card under the edge of the glass being careful to give the wasp time to move out of the way. Success! Alfred triumphantly held the combination of rescue device and rescued nearly to eye-level and grandly paraded to the open door and parted the card from the snifter. The wasp stayed in the Glencairn snifter. Alfred, with a measure of consternation shook the snifter and the wasp tumbled out. Before it hit the pavement outside the doorway the wasp performed a free fall somersault and pulled out in time. Alfred watched the insect zoom off into the front yard of his home. The last view he had of the wasp it was flying straight as an arrow toward the Nova Zembla rhododendron near the road. Alfred was elated and, in a way, inspired to become more like the wasp. He took the snifter to the kitchen and left it for his housekeeper to wash. Life was so simple.
G.M. Goodwin
June 6, 2020
Playing Fair and Being Kind 