By Patti Parish-Kaminski, Publisher
Proud of myself for thinking outside of the box.
In an age where so many folks work from home and don’t have the experience of going to an office with actual people, I must confess that sometimes I miss the camaraderie of peer socialization – that whole meeting up at the water cooler and spilling the tea on this and that.
Of course, we didn’t have a water cooler at my office. My folks typically plopped down on the leopard print chaise lounge in my office to spill. Yes, I had a Recamier or fainting couch in my office lest I needed to lounge a minute to get through the day. And no, I did not don a corset that was too tight – the very genesis of the fainting couch. I did, however, wear a lot of Spanx because I was full grown. Same thing.
So, this week when I had a visitor that hung around my office all day, even though I was busy, I was rather thankful. He showed up just before noon peering in my office window. He was beautiful and completely unbothered by my presence. It was as if I was in his space, not vice versa.
Old Buck hanging out unbothered by my presence.
I went out to my office porch – yes, I have a porch on my office – it’s a thing with me. I commenced to having a lovely conversation with this deer darling, and his response was quizzical glances. He never skirted off. He never looked alarmed. In fact, he laid down and spent the entire afternoon nestled in the leaves outside my office.
I came and went throughout the afternoon. He never budged. He just looked at me like he wanted something. I looked up what deer ate, besides my flowers, and found produce on the list. Y’all know I had no produce in the house. That would require grocery store going, meal planning and culinary efforts. Not in this girl’s wheelhouse.
Of course, I took photos of my newest colleague and sent them to Mother. She was tickled and confirmed my belief that I needed to feed him.
“Just go to the feed store and get some corn,” she exclaimed. “He’ll stick around.”
Going to an actual feed store is no longer in my skill set. Sure, back in the day I could do it, but I neither have the vehicle or prowess to transport large bags of feed. I am not Cee Cee Parker.
“I don’t even know where a feed store is,” I replied.
“Then go to Walmart. They have everything,” Mother responded.
I truly wasn’t considering going to Wally World for a feed run, that is until Mother named my newest office mate.
“He’s so pretty. Let’s call him Old Buck.”
There it was. Now I was invested. He had a name. I had to feed him. Thanks Mother.
I got in my two-door coupe hoping I could fit a bag of deer corn in the trunk and traversed into Walmart. I had a bad attitude.
I had no idea what department might house deer feed. I inquired to the door greeter where I should head and was promptly directed to home and garden. Upon arrival, I again asked an associate where I might find deer corn.
“We’re out. It’s hunting season you know. Lots of hunters feed the deer this time of year so they can get a big buck,” was the associate’s reply.
Horrified that Old Buck needed a safe sanctuary during this perilous season and had found one in my back yard, I sped out of the store. On the way out, I saw a bag of Corn Nuts. The internet informed me deer ate nuts, and I knew they ate corn, so I figured it was the best of both worlds, right?
I purchased said Corn Nuts, BBQ flavor as I wanted Old Buck to have a bit of a treat, and headed home.
It was dark by the time I got home but nonetheless, I scattered the Corn Nuts where we last conversed. The next morning, the Corn Nuts were gone, but Old Buck was no where in sight. We’ll see if he comes back. Then I’ll have to go to buy more Corn Nuts. See y’all next week – on the porch!
Patti Parish-Kaminski
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