a cold day in Texas 

water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink.......

so you never know what you got till it's gone. an old cliche if there every was one, but then again cliches are there for a reason. yesterday my water was shut off. sure i could blame this person and that person, i could blame bureaucratic bullshit, but in reality i have no one to blame but myself. i haven't paid the water bill in three months. and yesterday a hapless worker came to my house, closed the valve and put a padlock on it. simple as that. i'd actually paid the bill, but i guess i dropped in the mail a few days too late. oh well. the other day i spent the night at my girls house. we had a wonderful meal. homemade beef stroganoff. watched a movie and then settled in for the night. i got up the next morn, brushed my teeth, had a cup of coffee and made my way home. got home, and went about my days activities. i phoned several business associates, made plans and then went to work to get more things done. a simple plan. go to work, make my arrangements for the day, return home, shit, shower and shave, then return for my tuesday night behind the bar. serving drinks for the brave souls who ventured into the dark deserted neighborhood for a drink on a tuesday night. i arrived home at dusk to find a red flyer on my door. damn! maybe it's just my final warning. no worry i sent the check off in the mail yesterday. once i arrived on my doorstep, my fears were realized. they shut my water off. my plans were dashed. it was getting dark and cold. i was looking forward to a modest meal, and a shower. to cleanse my body and my soul. oh well i've been camping before, no big deal. it'll all be straightened out with a phone call, and i'll have water in the morning. one phone call to the water dept and i discover that i'll be with out water for a few more days, unless i want to go in person to pay the bill that i had previously paid but they had yet to receive. drats foiled again! oh well, i haven't done anything to get dirty, i can go one more day with out a shower, i can wash my face and hands at work. on the way home from work i got a can of soda, and bottle of water. the water for myself in the morning, and the soda to mix with my bourbon. when i woke the dogs bowl was empty, well he got a bottle of fine spring water to drink and i got the half can of flat cola to wash the night away. but this really sucks. i have bourbon, some flat soda, and no water. and all i want to do is wash my hands. a glass of water would be nice but i really want to wash my hands. a simple task. but yet unattainable. i use a little water left over from a pitcher in the fridge and complete the task. but as i was doing so, being careful to not waste a drop, i think of all the water i have wasted. the times the faucet dripped and i was too lazy to get up and turn it off. of the time i stood in the shower for long after i needed. or flushed an empty toilet just to hear it flush before i used it. of just the other day when i filed the sink to soak some pots, or just let the water run to rinse the pot instead of just washing it and being done. cliches are tools and examples of life. they tell us what we already know but are too wrapped up with ourselves to listen. so the old cliche, you don't know what you got till it's gone? it's true. it's a truism. i have three faucets in my home, and not a one of them works. i took them for granted. i took for granted that every time i turn the handle, clean cool water would run forth. but not today. today all i have is a quickly emptying bottle of bourbon, three days worth of beard, and dirty hands. i hope i don't have to shit soon.