“OK, everybody, we’re here in the park. Jump out.”
Prince Henry jumps out of the passenger seat; Aussie hangs back.
“Come on, Aussie, we’re off.”
“I don’t know if I can concentrate. All that noise!”
“There’s construction up the hill, Aussie, but we’re not going there.”
“It’s too much.”
“Aussie, they’re not even drilling. I’m putting a leash on you and taking you out. I’ll take it off as soon as we’re in the woods. There, now you’re free again.”
“I’m running! Free as a bird!”
“You know, Aussie—”
“Here it comes.”
“Here what comes?”
“Every time you say the words You know, Aussie, it’s the start of a dharma talk.”
“Aussie, life is full of disruption. We can’t avoid it.”
“I avoid it great.”
“How?”
“I cower in the back seat of the car.”
“Aussie, we all like things to come out the way we plan them, we want everything to be just right.”
“You bet!”
“It won’t happen. Where are you going? It’s gunshots, Auss, and they’re far away. This entire area is full of shooting ranges. You’re from Texas, I thought you’d be used to gunshots.”
“It’s like the OK Corral out there!”
“Aussie, we feel that if we do things just right everything will work out. Don’t go left, go right. Don’t marry that person, marry this person. Try not to make mistakes. But that’s just hogwash, Aussie. Disruption and disturbance are part of the game.”
“Not in the back seat of the car they’re not.”
“Even there, Aussie, even there. Life happens. Turmoil happens. The real question isn’t how to prevent them, it’s how we work with them when they happen.”
“I jump onto the back seat of the car.”
“Aussie, you’re the one who bugs me to take you out all the time. You want to go on outings, you want adventure!”
“I don’t want anything unexpected.”
“What kind of adventure is that? Now where are you going?”
“Listen to that noise!”
“It’s a group of little kids, Auss. They’re playing and laughing, having a good time. Aussie, don’t go back to the car!”
“I don’t like little kids, they scream and squeal, make sudden moves.”
“Look at Henry, Auss. He’s playing with them, jumping up, getting petted right and left.”
“I have an appointment in the parking lot!”
“Aussie, if you don’t face your fears, how will you be fearless? Aussie, you come here now. Aussie? AUSSIE!”