Travels with The Rayman

Well, I’ve done it again.  Another mistake.  Will they not stop coming…the mistakes?  Or should I term it “an error in judgment”?  Or “a screw up”?  Probably it fits into the category of “what the hell was I thinking”?  At any rate, it all started innocently enough.

You see, I deviated from our norm of not buying each other xmas presents when I ordered ear buds for the Rayman so that he could listen to his music at the gym.  This set up a situation where he thought it appropriate to get me something…only he had no idea what.  So, he told me he wanted to get me a new wind chime.  Our old one had fallen in disrepair from the elements.  “Fabulous”, I concurred.  But he needed my help because he didn’t want to get the wrong one.  No sirree.  He let me choose it.

So…at 3:30 a.m. this morning we were awakened by our lovely new wind chime.  It was loud.  And it loud constantly.  We pretended for a bit that it was fine.  Only it wasn’t.  It was really loud.  The wind was blowing pretty forcefully.  And the chime was placed where the old one had been, at the corner of the roof by our bedroom.  Never a problem before.  We continued to pretend some more as we lay there awake… as in totally awake.  OMG.  The neighbors.  Us.  The entirety of Morro Bay perhaps.  This wind chime is a really effective wind chime.

It was decided that action was required.   Rayman decided to close the bedroom slider, did so, and slipped back into bed.  The noise was only slightly less annoying.  It was at this juncture that I started laughing.  What a hoot.  4 a.m. and we were wide awake because of that darn wind chime.  Rayman even laughed.

And that is why you would have seen us outside had you decided to come for a visit at 4 a.m. this morning.  Rayman on the ladder that he fetched from the garage.  Me holding onto the clanger of the chime trying to quiet the damn thing.  I was in my robe.  Rayman had slipped into sweats.  I was barefooted.  He was smart enough to put some Vans on.   The bedroom porch light was shining.  He took the darn thing down.

The wind chime is now laying on top of the hot tub.  I am feeling stupid for wanting this noisy menace to society.  We agree that thing is too big.  It needs to hang from an oak tree out in the middle of a field about 100 yards from any house where sleeping may occur.  But here it sits in silence.  Lovely silence.

So, maybe I’ll list it on Craigslist.  For sale.  Wind chime, new since xmas, almost perfect condition.  Perfect for a farm, ranchette, or Hearst Castle.  $50.