Ah Wednesday, middle of the week and the day I always feel like I haven’t quite done all that I need to do. Its a little stronger of a feeling this week with the coming holiday, but still, I do know I am actually more or less on track. Despite the feeling that I forgot something. If I did, I’m sure it will come to me at some point. Until them shall we write? Timers at the read and let’s see what fifteen minutes and a sentence starter gets us.
Interesting. I’m going to have to think about this before I decide exactly how to proceed. I have only a hazy idea now. It will need to marinate a while before I return.
Wednesday, November 16th: He swung an axe at the log.
He swung and axe at the log. He expected the log to split in half, the pats flying apart. Instead the axe stuck in the top of the log. He looked at it and realized the axe was barely entering the wood, certainly not enough to split it.
“I guess I didn’t hit it hard enough,” he said to himself. He pulled the axe out of the log and set the log back on the chopping block. He gave a mighty swing and put all of his weight into it. This time the axe bit harder into the wood. It stuck, deeper this time, but there was no splitting of the wood.
“Lame,” he said with a heavy sigh. He thought about Corey and the example he showed him. He remembered Corey banging the log on the chopping block and driving the axe deeper into the wood until the log finally split.
Jase lifted the axe with the log still attached and began banging it on the stump that served as the chopping block. Gradually the axe slipped deeper into the wood. It was working. Jace kept at it until the log finally split.
He took a deep breath and let it out in a huff. He set the axe down. Picked up the two now split pieces of log and walked over to the box he was supposed to pile high with the wood. His two pieces thumps into the empty box. He looked from the box to the stack of logs that he was expected to split.
“I don’t know why they have to be split in the first place,” he said. “Smaller pieces just means they’ll burn faster.”
It was, in his opinion, yet another pointless task given to him to do. Even a few days in he knew that when he was given a task to do here, he was expected to do it. If he went in without splitting the logs, he would just be sent right back out to do it properly. He also knew that someone would be sent to watch him to make sure he was doing it properly. Thinking of how difficult it was for him to split this first log compared to the ease with which Corey did it, Jace was certain there would be plenty of opportunities for corrections.
After only three days, he was already sick of the corrections.
‘Me being here is supposed to be a correction,” he muttered to himself. He kept his voice low though. As much as the others here annoyed him, he was a little intimidated by some of them as well. The other guys like him who were sent here just like he was were fine. It was the instructors who Jace was leery of. All of them had a hardened edge to them as though before they came, they did things far worse than those sent here for rehabilitation ever dreamed of doing.
Ten til Midnight 