2nd May 2022
I wanted to move the mountain of dirt I had accumulated when I excavated for the decking. I had stored it at the far end of the garden under the pine trees. I wanted to use it to level the area in the front garden that will be turned over to wild flowers.
Each shovel full had to be sifted to remove all the dead grass and roots. It was exhausting work, barrowing from the back to the front and tipping it into heaps then back again. Nine times later it was all done and ready to be mixed into the existing soil, ready for the delivery of top soil tomorrow.
Once settled down in the evening watching a bit of television, Kelli saw the friend of Larry stumbling from his van ( like he often does) but this time he fell to the floor and appeared to flounder trying to get up.
I put my shoes on and rushed over to help him. It was pretty clear that he was drunk, I could smell it across the road. I tried to help him up but he complained that his legs didn’t work, I was pretty sure the rest of him wasn’t either.
I managed to get him to his feet using Larry’s truck to get purchase on, he stood but when he tried to walk his legs buckled under him and he hit the ground, banging his head on the path. So my intervention didn’t help, but rather set him up to get injured. I tried again, finding a spade to act as a support, he wanted to go back to his van to rest. I lifted him up again and we slowly moved one wobbly leg after another getting him to his vehicle, I guess he would stay there until he sobered up.
It was a small insight into someone’s troubled life where alcohol can seem to be the remedy but is often the cause.
Another Lifetime to go 