Slides Into the Keyway
It's quite simple. His name is Jarvin, the keeper of
the keys. Hooked to a belt loop, they dangle as he
walks and make a hard kerplunk on the worn oak stool
where he parks his keister for the long afternoon.
Jarvin's your man when facing a locked door with no
key. He specializes in doors. No pad locks. No
vehicles. And no mailboxes, thank you very much!
“Cylinder locks are my favorites, although I have
plenty of keys for pin-and-tumblers, wafer-tumblers,
and tubular locks,” he says with the confidence of a
guy who could teach a master locksmith a trick or two.
“Keys are beautiful. Each one has a blade that slides
into the keyway and the bow, which sticks out, so that
torque can be applied by the user.” Jarvin spends
hours admiring the peaks and valleys cut into key
blades. He has a skeleton key, which belonged to his
grandmother's cedar chest where linens, a fistful of
love letters tied with a salmon-color ribbon, and a
silk lacy undergarment were locked up. An odd cedar
chest key on the ring of a red-blooded door man – a
bit strange, but true.
after he passed –
the mint Bruce Lee collection
no one knew about
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Forget the Sofa Cushions
In Miami, ”dazzling direct ocean views from expansive
living, dining rooms and master suites” comes with a
hefty price. For $9,450,000 it can be yours. I
wouldn’t delay if I were you, since a primo property
like this will go faster than a rabbit in heat. Time
to cash in the CDs. Clear out the stocks and Euro junk
bonds. Liquidate the pork belly futures. Sell the
ostrich farm. Ebay the collectibles. Grab the Skippy
Peanut butter jar crammed full of your paper route
profits. Check under the mattress for wads of cash.
Don’t forget the sofa cushions – all that change can
add up. That pure, sparkly sea-blue view of Mamma
Nature is waiting for you, and only you.
sunbeam
defined
by dust
• Jeffrey Winke is a haiku/ haibun poet and public relations counselor. Recent publications include That Smirking Face, a haiku-art broadside collaboration with Matt Cipov (Milwaukee: Distant Thunder Press, 2008) and PR Idea Book: 50 Proven Tools That Really Work (Denver: Outskirts Press, 2006). www.jeffwinke.com
