Planning is Everything

Purple plug in situ in antique bathtub.

I spent a long time preparing to go to Martha's Vineyard Island for an extended stay.  I wanted to travel lean, but, at the same time, I wanted to have enough creature comforts so as not to feel deprived.  What to do? What to do?  I took a smaller than usual suitcase. I brought two colors. Black and white. Two bathing suits. One piece, two piece.  It simplified everything to think this way.  The excess came in the form of books, electronics and things to keep myself engaged and busy.  This became most evident as I unpacked.  
However, of all the things I brought with me, it is one small object that has been an essential adjunct to my stay.  It measures about 2"x 2".  I thought, "What if the plug to the tub is lost or leaks? Then where I be without my soaking baths?"  So, I brought a plug.  A slightly, whimsical. purple plug.  
Imagine my relief that I was ready to cope with the tub that just happened to be without a plug. 

Alice Through the Looking Glass

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I believe I know exactly how Alice might have felt as she fell through the Looking Glass.  I can duplicate the sensation in one of two ways. First, through the use of mirrors, I can see the infinite distorted images of myself stretch out in triplicate until I begin to lose awareness of which one of the images is the “real” me.  Second, I can open my laptop and wind through the images of me, in both word and photo. These images appear when I click on the Pages icon or press the iPhoto icon.   The rabbit hole opens as I begin to scroll through the many, many, many, documents and photos on my computer.  It appears that I am as prolific as a bored wood carver in a forest.  

I see the path, circuitous and long, that I have taken to arrive at this juncture.  My words flow like the brook at the end of my driveway; sometimes, they glide fluently, while at others, they drag and catch.  There are times my words bubble wildly, unrestrained and melodic, without any real direction. I am Alice, upside down.  Images and words, ass-over-tea-kettle,  I am Alice.

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