As I opened the window in the west wing my eye fell on the books gathering dust above the bed, which incidentally, also gathers dust. One book of note comes from Jerome K. Jerome, the great comedy writer of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As you know he became famous for his 'Three Men in a Boat' book which touched the hearts of many as they also had been through similar experiences at the time. He never again found such success. That book is a 'one off,' a book that sells, and continues to sell today, that had such a success that writers can only dream of emulating. No other Jerome book reached that height.
He continued to write of course, and in spite of his age, he was 55 in 1914, spent time working for the French Ambulance service during the Great War, the British refused as he was 'too old.'
One book on the shelf that caught my red eyes was a collection of papers first published in the magazine 'Home Chimes,' as was the way at the time, called 'Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow.'
How suitable for me that is I thought, my mind wandering towards the cream I was intending to spice my Costa Rican coffee with this morning.
I intended to reach out and collect the book, 'Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow,' but I was too idle to do this, reaching that far early on could be dangerous for one so idle as myself. So I idled for a moment, then left it and hurried into the kitchen.
Sustained by coffee and porridge filled with raisins I cogitated on being idle.
I cogitated so long some passing by outside looked up and considered I was just being idle.
How dare they. I knew how to handle such people, I drew the dust covered curtains and blocked them out.
Being 'idle' is not always a good thing. Men 'laid off' from factory, docks or mines were often 'idle' but not too keen on it. Being idle is fine if you have coffee and porridge with raisins, if however, you fail to afford bread it can become somewhat wearisome, as most of us have found out one way or another. On the other hand, being fed and watered, being able to stand at the window watching men hurtling past early on heading for work in factories, warehouses and Royal Mail while I stand there drinking coffee does bring a smile to my face. Especially when it is raining and I am inside! These type of men often wave back I notice...
Later, the women pass by, aiming for shop or office work, always moaning about how hard life is, ignoring the men digging holes in the road meanwhile, and sitting at a desk, possibly all day, while they grumble about their hardships. These do not wave, they merely put their nose in the air as they pass.
Once 9 am has passed I notice how 'Facebook' gets busy. I often wonder why.
I also get busy, I plan my day, make tea, possibly Green Tea with Orange and Lotus Blossom, or work hard watching the housework that I am avoiding, it may be too hot just now, or too cold later, so let it lie I say. I then fill the time on here, reading the online newspapers, at least the free ones, watching the world continue on its normal progress to destruction, though each day it varies somewhat, and then instead of idling I decide to take on an adults responsibilities, and ponder what is for lunch.
Now, a real idler would of course have a woman to do this, after all that is what they were made for, however, the Good Lord took away the only woman I wished to keep, and rightly so, and left me searching the freezer for something I forgot to remove last night.
Corned Beef again I think today.
Being Saturday I would normally spend idle time watching football, however, none is as yet available. So, instead I, er, what do I do?
I suppose I will just have to sit here and stare out the window today.
Funnily enough, it comes to mind how so many people cannot idle. You have met they type, always on the go, cannot sit down, must be 'doing' all the time. Such people die if they are forced to retire, or engage in wallpapering, gardening, climbing mountains or voluntary work, anything to avoid idling. What is wrong with such people?
You meet them while working, always keen, always volunteering for jobs, never hiding in a cupboard like others I could mention, and being taken advantage of by managers everywhere. Some of course become managers, and are a pain to idlers everywhere.
Today, I have indeed been idling. The idea of work in such warm weather, the temp gauge claims 27% c, although the sun has been hidden behind clouds all day. I know this as I have been watching it hide for hours. When it does decide to pop out the leaves on the trees opposite gleam smartly while bobbing up and down gently in what the weather people refer to as a 'gentle breeze.' It is not usually as 'gentle' as they claim.
So, as I stand here jingling the keys in my pocket, watching the Saturday world go by, I say, young women did not look like that when I was young, did they all have those bits? Anyway, watching the traffic makes me jealous of those who car afford a car, I would like a little cheap one to get about, and the maroon coloured Landrover I have asked for these past 20 years has not as yet materialised.
If I was not so idle I may have had one by now I suppose?
This typing is hurting my fingertips, I think idling is set before me for the remainder of the day, and I may as well do that through in the West Wing where comfort is assured.
