Thursday Thoughts: Nature. Meh.

I went to start my truck yesterday and well . . . it didn’t. It tried. It turned over and over then over again, and again, then almost caught, then nothing—except for all the warning lights on the dashboard. Wow, there are a lot of them. You might know a few: the little engine which is just the outline of the transmission, the tire that looks flat but indicates something other than a low tire, the car doing skids, and a whole slew of others with my favorite being the genie lamp*.

After several attempts (cuz if it didn’t work that first few times, trying it again will work), I got out and opens the hood because I’ll know exactly what the problem is but looking at the engine (he says sarcastically). You used to be able to do a lot of maintenance on vehicles, but now, not so much.

After some poking and prodding (was that going to do something?), I went to close the hood and noticed that what had once been a black insulated covering was now a gray shredded mess.

Squirrels?

Yup. Squirrels.

I called my trusty mechanic and explained the problem and what I has seen. His answer? “Yeah, they’re eating it alive.”

So, after getting it towed, I wait. I usually like nature. Now, not so much. I hope you are enjoying your new couch/bed (he says sarcastically). Why don’t you eat a few of those unknown fibers while you’re at it.

-Leon

^{*Yeah, the oil light.}

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Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.

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