Knackered Escapes Destruction with Benzos

   Hey there, Knackered here.  Early morning finds Knackered gazing cautiously out the back door.  Last night was forecasted to be the ‘mother of all storms’ but nothing much seems amiss.  

   TV was focused on the ravings of a deranged orange person,  when suddenly a scary alert came on board. It beeped loudly while an ominous voice portended the likely weather apocalypse.  

   The Knackered canine rushed to the room, likely awaiting orders to head to to the basement and shelter in place.  Such a reference has never made much sense to a sheltered Knackered in the TV room.  But it’s  distinctly different to the more ominous, ‘stop drop and roll’. 

   Knackered smiled as he recalled the nuclear air raid drills he and his friends experienced as young school age lads. Seated tightly against inner walls, they could be heard giggling and reciting the ditty, ‘put your head between your legs and kiss your a__s goodbye’.  A likely outcome in the event of a real attack.

   The past returns to the present as Knackered teeters down the street, in pursuit of the town center and the site of last night’s festivities, the annual squirrel fest.  The event was supposed to have concluded at approximately the same time as the advertised storm was to have arrived.  The stalls appear deserted and a few revelers are still wandering aimlessly about.

   The squirrel event contains no furry friends.  They have long since gone into hiding, far wiser than their human counter parts who came to party. The main event is much like the fraternity keggers of Knackerd’s college days.  No public puking is usually visible, but Knackered has oft times wondered what goes on in those rows of porta potties still on the lawn.  

   Having circled the park area he  ventures down a residential street, still looking for signs of downed tree limbs that usually appear after such weather.  Knackered lives in a ‘Tree City USA’ and the place lives up to its name. 

   Further down the block, he finds one of his old friends standing in the middle of the street.  The dog appears older than dirt and is likely deaf. Knackered leans down to pet his buddy as he saunters over and rubs against his leg.  Scratching behind his ears, Knackered wonders what happened to his collar.  It was still there just a few days ago at their last encounter.

   The dog must belong to someone in the neighborhood.  He’s well fed and other than his ‘stick-like’ legs and rheumy eyes, the guy appears to be endlessly smiling.  No doubt, it’s due to the dog mentality, blissfully unaware of the endless drivel that haunts the minds of humans.  Knackered leads him over to the grass nearby and walks on.  As he looks back, he sees he has once again wandered out into the street.  

   Returning to his own neighborhood, Knackered notices that there is still no sign of life.  Everyone seems dead to the world on this ‘morning after’.  Rounding the corner and heading down the sidewalk to his home, he realizes that he has come ‘full circle’ in more ways than one.  The alerts, warnings and hype appear to have led to nothingness.  Suddenly he realizes that’s, no doubt, where he too belongs as well. Entering the back door, he wanders to the meditation chair and breathes with purpose on his journey into universal consciousness.  “Darkness within darkness. The gateway to all understanding.” (Tao Te Ching#1-Stephen Mitchell translation-1988)