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January 8, 2002 safe passage I was in court all day because the judge refused to let me substitute a sharp stick in the eye for my presence in his courtroom.  By the time I made it back to my cold, dark, and non-swinging pad, I was whipped.  I recalled, then confirmed, that the cupboard was bare and I sank a bit lower.  By the time I shed my tie and hard-soled shoes, I remembered that I had not a soul with whom I could share the day's travails.  I slumped further and decided that, if I couldn't eat or soggy-up a shoulder, I could at least take a hot bubble-bath. I got naked and sat on the edge of the bathtub.  As I reached to draw water, I noticed a gecko sitting in my tub.  He was missing half his tail and I could tell from his forlorn expression that his raggedy-ass tail was the least of his concerns.  The guy had suffered a bad day.  A day, like mine, that had gone cruel on him. For a long while, the gecko and I stared at one another.  Then I opened up and told him every detail of my shitty day.  He was a solid listener, showing both understanding and compassion.  True, he eventually gave me the gecko equivalent of glancing at his watch when I ran a bit windy but, in the end, he turned my tears to laughter.  And all he wanted in return was safe passage out of my steep-sided bathtub and into my front garden.

©  2002 by the beastmaster