Hummingbird in Palo Verde

 

I had a very short list of things to accomplish today. Haven't been able to work in five days, wanted to ease into it.  I wanted to unpack three boxes of totes, photograph a piece of silver and send a picture of a wonderful Maidu Native American basket to a good client in San Francisco.

And then, if I had time I would process some photographs. Unfortunately I fell down the rabbit hole, looked at the photos first and lost the morning. Oh well...

After lunch I tried to contact my client Barry. He is a scientific researcher on cancer genetics. Sold him a maidu basket last spring. Wonderful guy, he was very pleased with what he bought and he was excellent to do business with.

I emailed his company and the email bounced back. Odd. I tried an alternate email, same result and went to his linked in page. Looked like he still worked for Exact Sciences, in fact he is their Medical Director. I called the phone number. Dead, no answer. 

I looked up the company web page. He was not listed. Looked for news about the company and their might have been a mass layoff, damn. Bummer. Did my client lose his job recently? Probably not in the mood to buy...

I googled his name and found a man's obituary in North Carolina with the same name. Died in Asheville in December. I thought it was an odd coincidence until I recognized his phone number. I guess I won't be selling him a basket. 69 years old.

Life is a fleeting and temporary proposition my friends, make it count.

*

postscript - tired and dizzy on my way to emptying only my second box, I stepped through a painting, broken glass everywhere, no gloves, no energy. I assessed the situation, quietly turned around, shut the light off, locked the door and officially pronounced myself done for the day.