Joe did not wake up with waking dreams after drinking the small quantity of Zinfandel Rosarium Divinato the
night before. In fact he felt relatively normal. At least until he started thinking about the events
he had planned for the day. As he started about thinking about tasks that he had to complete to prepare for
the coming harvest be began to feel like he had branches, ropes, and lines projecting from his consciousness into
the future. Along each track lay different events and outcomes of the day, splintering into an overwhelming
number of alternatives the further out he sent his thoughts. However, some lines were brighter than others.
Some were so dim so as to be almost invisible. He shook his head and the vision of lines stopped.
He quickly found that, so long as he did not focus on any future thought too deeply, he did not start to
visualize the strings and lines. He quickly realized that this would be a major hindrance to getting
anything done in the winery.
Joe kissed Elise good morning as he came into the kitchen and sat down to breakfast. “The omelets
smell delicious dear”. He then became distracted and was quiet.
Elise looked over at Joe questioningly. “Are you feeling OK this morning? You are very quiet.
Just then Joe jumped up out of his chair and just caught the omelet pan as it started to slide off of the
burner, catching it by the handle before it fell to the floor.
“Thank you dear, how clumsy of me”.
“Not a problem, I am not always very coordinated.” Before Joe sat back down, he got out
another plate and silverware and placed it at Cathy’s normal seating location. He then sat down
again.
Moments later, Cathy came walking into the room. “Smells wonderful mom, what’s for breakfast?
”
“Omelets”, Elise looked over at Joe with raised eyebrows.
“Mom, Teresa said that they could pick me up to go to the lake at 8:30 this morning instead of
at 9:00. Would that be OK?”
“Of course you can. Don’t forget your towel and sunblock.”
Joe looked at Cathy between bites of omelet. “Where are you going with Teresa today?”
“Teresa and her mom are taking Katy, Sandra, and me up to Juniper Lake. This will probably be
my last chance before school starts.”
Joe responded by getting a faraway look in his eyes, still chewing on a bite of his omelet. Joe then
looked at the wall clock, 7:25. He then finished his breakfast and then went to brush his teeth. About
8:15, he came back to the Kitchen, where Elise was cleaning up while Joe Junior ate his breakfast. “
Cathy cannot go with Teresa and her mom this morning.”
Elise looked over at Joe. ‘Huh?”
“I don’t trust her mom’s driving.” Joe made up a story. “I followed
her down the road last week and was shocked at how bad a driver she is. The road up to Juniper
Lake is narrow, windy, and has no guard rails.”
Elise looked at Joe like he had flipped. “I have ridden with Teresa’s mom several times.
She is a very careful driver.”
Joe continued his fabricated story. “She sure wasn’t driving well the other day. Is she
on some kind of medications?”