There we sat, in the dark, at the kitchen table. I had lit a candle that my friend Cathy, the artist residence, had given me last Christmas, and a hand held LED lantern that Eleanor had given me at the same time. And so, we had plenty of light.

I had hoped that it would be a romantic dinner, but it was not; because the inverter wasn’t working, we did not have light. Pete was, in his head, trouble shooting, so we both sat quietly, lost in our own thoughts. I couldn’t help but think that if this happened the first year that we were together, it would have been a romantic evening. I guess that too soon, we just got on with the practical business of living our lives, together and apart.

The above is sad but very true.

Now, as I write this, we do have light – he said something about moving three wires and running on the generator. When these things happen, I tune him out because there are too many details, most of which I cannot follow. I think sometimes that he talks out loud, not in hopes of explaining these very strange things to me but rather to clarify what it is that he is doing.

This was history repeating itself. The same thing happened when generator Z died. He got it fixed. And he will get the inverter fixed.

I wonder why they call these things inverters. Then again, I do wonder about a lot of things but don’t ask because the answer I am seeking will be lost in the details. The details are a thicket; the ground is marshy. No sense trying to get from point A to Point B.

Today, this morning, I went to the dentist. I passed off a lot of children’s tooth books. The receptionist said she didn’t know there were so many books of this type. I thought, but I didn’t say, this is why we must have a large inventory of books.

Jenn (I now know her on a first name basis) cleaned my teeth. She was disappointed to see, and I was disappointed to hear, that I had a lot of plaque buildup. I thought I was doing a good job; I guess not.

The infection is no worse than it was, so she did not call in the dentist to take a look. She says I must clean under the bridge, and I must replace the head on my electric toothbrush. And I told her that I will drink more water and take in less sugar. The latter is going to be very hard to do, but I really want to have this portion of my gum be healthy the next time I darken the dentist’s doors.

I didn’t see the dentist. I suspect that if the infection was worse than previously, she would have scheduled a visit with the two of us.

The hardest part of going to the dentist is dealing with the traffic on the Seward Meridian Highway. It does appear as though there will be a light at what I call the gnarly intersection – right now it is there, but is covered over.

Go figure. Lights out.

Next: 272. 10/9/25: Wild Times