Head for the Round House, Nellie

B&O Round House
They cannot corner you there, the saying goes. Dad was fond of this particular bit of Americana. I admit to not really understanding it much. In my youth, toward the end of the great age of rail, there were switching yards and two-headed diesel engines and so not much use for a turn table to reverse the direction of the engine. The steam engine with coal car went in one side, drove on to the turn table which rotated to put its load heading the right direction on the correct track or just back out the way it had come heading the other way. Confused?

It does, however, make a lot of sense that a round house, built for any purpose, would free you from being cornered so to speak. So figuratively if not literally I often head to the round house when I am feeling stalked. Life should have less corners and more round houses don't you think?

The contractor from hell tried to corner me this last three day weekend. While drinking in his favorite bar in Red River he began the rumor that he had won the lawsuit and my house was going to be sold out from under me. The news reached me through friends on the weekend of course when I could not call my legal representation or the court for verification. Too bad his building and accounting skills were not as good as his timing of rumors and stalking skills.

Needless to say I didn't sleep all that well, overate, and submerged myself in the fantasy of Netflix streaming videos. I don't paint well when bothered but I do sketch good so I did that, and read, and exercised. My version of the virtual roundhouse. Tuesday my attorney verified that he lies! But once again I have let this hateful excuse for a human being ruffle my feathers.

But it also occurred to me, while I was catching my breathe from running in circles, is that a lot of his behavior is stalking so the next time he drives his big truck down my dead end county road I am taking his license number and reporting him to the state police. The one thing to remember about round houses, in addition to you cannot be cornered, is that the person chasing you has no place to hide from the shot gun blast!

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