My Friend Craig

I have this very special friend who is not afraid to reveal himself completely. Upon meeting him, he will always inform the new person to whom he is being introduced that he has Aspergers Syndrome.

Though Craig was delighted to find some relief in a label that better described for him why he was so different to most people, I am always in complete disagreement that it is a handicap whatsoever, for if there was ever a friend I would like to duplicate, it is my friend Craig.

And, I have come to believe that this Aspergers Syndrome has been of great benefit to making Craig exactly who he is...an absolute gem of a friend that one cannot duplicate in one's self, but merely must be ready, willing and able to stand in awe of.

I stood in awe of Craig the day he completely organized, brought his own tools with his home-made and movable work stand and proceeded to mount the top of my flats to fix my precarious water tank. Our flats were yellow stickered until this event could take place. And, we had a 4.2 aftershock while he was up there, but in Craig's terms, "It wasn't a problem", as he was strapped to the tank in a completely professional and safe manner while I was beneath him chewing on my underwear.

When you live in Christchurch, New Zealand, you live with yellow, red and green stickers. Yellow is caution, Red is keep out and Green is go in if you are still willing. I was not willing to go into these flats for nearly a year so traumatized was I in my own mind for several seasons, but that is a different story, this story is about Craig.

Craig has no fear of anything, in fact, he seems to thrive in this new environment heaped upon us so-called normal folks. Before the earthquakes, Craig felt out of place, after the earthquakes, he feels completely at ease while the rest of us look to him for guidance.

Craig's ease does not come from being lazy, but from being completely prepared to learn and do all of life's necessities whilst still finding time to stay up with current affairs of all types. Craig reminds you when the concerts are on, what the latest conflicts are about, what solutions have been discovered and who of importance is coming to town and offers to take you with him wherever he goes.

The fact that Craig has an engineering degree has not gone stale in an environment that does not furnish jobs for people like Craig. Craig creates his own work by helping every single person he knows and hears that might have a problem. He fixes their cars, their homes, chops their wood and stacks it, orders their parts at reduced rates, counsels people with psychological problems, takes you to meditation groups or to get your car warranted and bakes the best cheesecakes in this world! There is nothing Craig will not attempt as long as it brings some benefit to someone.

When Craig is your friend, he is not just there for you, but he is also there for each of your children, your significant other and all your other friends. Craig is a truly universal, completely democratic time sharer who never seems to grow tired of helping anyone with a need. Craig is a living and breathing miracle.

And, he reminds me of someone else I have always wanted to meet...

Moving On

Okay, now that all that STUFF is out of the way...here are the mechanics of life right before Christmas until NOW...

A decision was finally made to move out of Christchurch. I know, many friends from outside Christchurch (especially my family and friends in the USA) are saying, 'finally', but it is not an easy decision to leave behind a city that needs so much help. However, we are convinced now that the only help we can give will be to return to Christchurch from time to time and hopefully bring with us the clarity that can only be gained from a distance.

Christchurch is in deep need of some clarity. And, so are we.

We went on holiday to Kaikora for one night and on to Blenheim for seven more nights and camped in a tent...the most secure feeling in the world for those of us who live in earthquake alley. Having nothing more substantial over one's head than a micro fiber spells RELIEF to the soul continuously checking out the structure or escape routes of homes and buildings in Christchurch. I am looking forward to NOT sleeping with my cell phone at arms length in the very near future!

And, I might add, I am looking forward to living anywhere on all the other many and various known and unknown faultlines in New Zealand with the same underlying awareness that rocking and rolling is always a possibility, but the recent historical record of how things are being addressed in Christchurch, well...I shall not comment except to say that we have decided that for us...distance is in order.

For our many friends who must stay in Christchurch for their own or other reasons...we have acquired many extra tents (a fact) and an open door policy that has always been a part of our ethics (another fact)...come, come as often as you need to become refreshed, camp in our next surroundings and express yourself with as many earthquake stories as you need to exude to clean out the clogged arteries! We will allow you to pick the topic, paint the picture as you see it with your own words, and simply LISTEN. We have no solutions either, only ideas going unheard.

Meanwhile, we have put our home on the market and anticipate a fairly quick sale as it is undamaged. We regret that we have to leave behind Brother John's creation, but Brother John's motto is 'don't worry, be happy' and even he felt this was definitely revisable when standing in the door frame too many times in one day...it pays to worry just a little when living in Christchurch, and at least we know we will leave behind a safe enough place for the next owner to scurry to when the going gets going a little too much. The outdoor kitchen is heaven on earth during a major quake...we know, we got to use it the very first night of its completion.

While on vacation, we fed the eels and ducks a lot, sat by a natural stream and contemplated which way to go. We decided on Blenheim at the top of the South Island, closer to the North Island which we feel we have ignored too long and home to Marlborough Country and the best Savignon Blanc grapes in the world. Even though I do not drink, I certainly enjoy the ambiance of the perfect rows everywhere growing the nectar of the gods...laugh out loud, or so they think. But, it is also next door to the Marlborough Sounds which is and always will be one of my favorite places on this planet...the Sounds are for the spirit a huge upliftment that can be even for a writer, darned near indescribable. Pristine beauty.

We will be close to Picton where we can hop on the boat, go across the strait (on a fine day of course) and investigate what for us has become to feel like another country, the North Island of New Zealand. Should I mention that we will then be situated right on the Great Alpine Faultline? Well, for my worried compadres in Oklahoma, you are sitting on the faultline of fracking, and now, this disease is going viral so I don't reckon anywhere to be safe enough from our own stupidity, but the aesthetics of the region will simply have to make up for it. And, it does...I will send you pictures soon enough.

It has been seventeen months of hard work. We have been fortunate to get out a few times and feel the difference between living in a world not totally focused on devastation and rebuilding and the world of such...the contrast is enormous and the anticipation of getting out and starting over is as you would expect...a real thrill and a real bummer (nice seventies vocabulary)...bittersweet...but, we are not leaving Christchurch entirely behind as we will take it with us on many levels and come back often to visit, encourage and hopefully even one day get to help redirect some of the thinking going on at another time more ripe for ideas that will bring relief instead of more mayhem. Right now, Christchurch feels stuffed with too many minds that need a particular vacation from this place...there are a few who simply need a one way ticket out of here.

Enough. We are busy packing, moving, showing, trying not to tell and telling only what those who must remain behind need to hear...wherever we go, we will take this collective consciousness with us and always have the tents ready for as many as feel the need to spell themselves relief with micro fibers...such a strangely blended world we all now live in...

My love, as always...belongs to each and every one of you...

Stuff Shuffler

Stuff shuffler,
Mediator,
Contact for medical alerts,
Psychological facilitator,
Mistress of compromise,
Sexual gratification placeholder,
Deliverer of goods of all types,
Hands adapted for brooms and white appliances,
Feet for kicking debris in designated corners,
Monsters play outdoors and gobble all the fresh air while...

She shuffles stuff and mediates the physical and mental health of others while lying back and thinking of another country whose exports threaten to keep everyone forever in debt as the far corners have all been occupied by virtual monsters without the need to breath like her, she finds herself stuffed.

Mounted mummy, find a wall and stay there.

But, the walls are cracking and some mummies fall off their shelves and make functionally obsolete spaces to raise many monsters in. No monster needs a mummy; they simply need a stuff shuffler to keep the path clean for more...

and more...

and more...

There is no nevermore except for a Poe poet that stuff shufflers can never be, too busy keeping the tap tap tapping, go go going for the story makers that are all pointing to the placeholder for the blank spaces the stuff shufflers create for others to write upon.