Bumbling Around

     Going through one of those times in life where I'm not gettin' much done.  A while back I built a lean-to on the side of the cabin.  My outdoor work space.  She's not much more than a twenty foot long shed roof with post supports, a deck floor atop a half dozen small piers and a couple of power outlets.  Still had a pile of unused lumber and plywood so I threw together a sixteen foot work bench.  Next I bit the bullet and headed down to Duluth.  There I bought the tools I shoulda had when the cabin went up. Guess that's the story of life in a nutshell.  Table saw, band saw and joiner.  Put those together and they add up to tables, shelves, cabinets, canoe paddles and a coffin should I feel the need.
     While working, my mind drifts.  Not all the time, when the saws are fired up it pays to know where my fingers are.  Being naturally lazy I find it easier keeping them on my hands than playin' hide and seek with finger tips on the ground.
     Today, I had my mind on eyes.  Mainly the color of them.  Like most Minnesotans I was raised to look a person in the eye and in my growin' up years, did my best to do so.  Then I heard the eyes are the windows of the soul.  Put the fear of God in me that someone should know what I'd been thinking about.  I knew where my thoughts had been even if I'd never physically joined them.  Didn't want to let those cats out of the bag.  So, over time, my eyes took to dropping and wandered everywhere but straight ahead.  Came to know the condition of shoe leather way better than the color of another's eyes.
     Over time I came to outgrow my fears.  Worked my darndest to look a person in the eye.  And almost succeeded.  Turned out it's not easy doing three things at the same time.  At least for me it ain't.  I can listen to a person and look right at their eyes but have no clue what color they are.  Tried it once but lost the gist of what the cop was saying.  Turned out the right answer to the question, "Are you listening to me?" wasn't "Sorry officer, my thoughts strayed when I looked into your deep blue eyes."  Wasn't sure whether he'd come upside my head with his night stick or ask me on a date.  Can't say either one appealed to me.
     Anyhow, that's how I got into noses.  Like the eyes a person's nose says a lot about character.  And's nowhere near as dangerous to stare at one.  So, next time we meet and it appears I'm looking you in the eye, I'm not.  Take no offense, it's just the way I am.