Goodbye, Burt

File Under: Cathartic Cleansing


During a previous Indiana visit, Vahona and I went to a county fair. Give us a venue where we can eat food on a stick, people watch and hopefully see a midget or two and we're giddy. We played some games and both won prizes. I chose a small, stuffed Burt. Burt found a home in the back window of my car. When asked why I had a Burt doll in my window, I would tell people that I'm a Burt without an Ernie. It got some laughs. It was a metaphor for my life.

As luck would have it, a year later, I had an encounter with an "Ernie." I was an interesting ride and I learned some important lessons about myself during it. After the dust settled, Burt was moved to the trunk of my car and that's where he was...until Saturday.

Vahona and I walked to my car to put our apples away so that we could continue our adventure without being weighed down by produce. I looked in the trunk, my laundry bin had shifted and there, in front was Burt. The timing seemed right, something moved me to take Burt out, say goodbye and sit him on the post in front of my parking spot. I looked at Vahona and said "it's time to move on." We walked away.

I remarked, as we were heading back towards the orchard, that if Burt was still there, I would take him and put him back in the trunk. If he was gone, that's what was meant to be.

As we left, I forgot to look. I think that's the way it was intended.

I hope he wasn't there. I hope some child came along, saw it and his or her parent decided it was safe to give their kid and he's making some child smile. Thinking about that makes me smile.

Goodbye, Burt.