Of course, the instant the phone rang, I recognized the caller. For some reason I just knew. I spoke softly into the receiver and said: don’t worry Uncle Gnarley, we’ll be right there.
Can a phone
ring with urgency? Is telepathy possible
through the sheer force of one trying to reach out to another?
These were the questions I pondered as my SUV hit the pavement in the direction of the Southern Shore.
It was an unusual line of inquiry to be sure, and contained none of the more down-to-earth questions that typically preoccupied Uncle Gnarley and me. At another time, I might have prodded the caller, demanding to know the nature of the upset. Did Kathy Dunderdale resign? Has Jerome Kennedy lost his mind?
Such questions would have served to tease him in advance of having my own dignity diminished by his harsh rebuke. Intuitively, I knew this was not the right time for levity.
These were the questions I pondered as my SUV hit the pavement in the direction of the Southern Shore.
It was an unusual line of inquiry to be sure, and contained none of the more down-to-earth questions that typically preoccupied Uncle Gnarley and me. At another time, I might have prodded the caller, demanding to know the nature of the upset. Did Kathy Dunderdale resign? Has Jerome Kennedy lost his mind?
Such questions would have served to tease him in advance of having my own dignity diminished by his harsh rebuke. Intuitively, I knew this was not the right time for levity.
