“Furnace Freeze, Part Two”

c. 2019 Rod Ice

All rights reserved

(11-19)

Half past one o’clock in the morning.

My fingers were icy. They spent the evening alternately typing away at the keyboard, or being held in front of my Kmart ‘Home Essentials’ heater. A veteran unit that had somehow lasted since the onset of cold weather in late 2002. Living for three weeks without a working furnace had brought an increased sense of gloom to the cold. Yet I managed to improvise. With two electric cubes and the burners on my kitchen stove, our lingering burst of seasonal frost was kept in check for the moment.

Meanwhile, I had begun to learn about options for staying warm throughout the full course of winter. An initial offer of professional system replacement for $3500.00 made me shiver with more dread than the falling temperatures. But because we had reached November, every heating & cooling company was already overbooked. I could not get more than a casual inspection. So the price had no meaning in real terms. We were stuck in a cold conundrum likely to last for more than a month.

My Black Lab did not complain. He simply huddled with pillows on our couch.

An immediate solution would have been to buy more common, electric space heaters. But these were certain to inflate my monthly bill. I pondered an auxiliary propane unit on the wall, before realizing that more than a single unit might be needed. Again, not an affordable solution. My friend the maintenance guy suggested trying a pellet stove, a modern variation of the traditional wood-burner. An interesting alternative. I had used an end-loader to burn logs in past years, with my first wife and son. But I had no extra space for storing any kind of solid fuel. Or, stamina to carry pellets in 40-pound bags while leaning on my cane. Every choice had drawbacks that stalled my hunt for a quick solution.

So I turned back to my Kmart companion for warmth and comfort. A pot of coffee offered energy for the journey toward sunrise. Then, words came to fill the void:

“Furnace Freeze

That’s the sitch for me

Stuck in November

With no mix in the blender

Just a house and a dog

And a Duraflame log

Can’t you see

Furnace Freeze

That’s the way my life be

With a foot of the white stuff

My belly full enough

Of hope gone sour

Counting minutes by the hour

Till daylight I see

Furnace Freeze

Temperatures in the teens

Rain changed to snow

Stranded and cold

Not a repairman in sight

Gonna sit up all night

And hammer the keys

Furnace Freeze

What’s the matter with me?

It’s the season, they say

My night better than day

At the desk with my mug

And my dog on the rug

Mercy me

Furnace Freeze

Christmas trees on TV

Just a few weeks till Saint Nick

That lovable prick

He reminds me of gloom

And the frost in this room

I need heat

Furnace Freeze

The neighbors are peeved

We live in Ohio

But they want Key Largo

A Corona in the hand

And volleyball on the sand

That ain’t me

Furnace Freeze

Arthritis in my knees

An early breath of winter

It’s only November

Here’s me caught pants down

My self-confidence on the ground

Busted teeth

Furnace Freeze

No goat for the thief

I can’t lose what I don’t have

Irony makes me laugh

At the desk in a snowstorm

I’ll write until morn

That’s just me

Furnace Freeze

Want bourbon with caffeine

But each step through the alphabet

Has to bring no regret

I am careful and cautious

Do it for both of us

You can thank me

Furnace Freeze

On the phone is my she

A friend by the lake

Who made no mistake

Her heater is alight

With warmth for the night

Her I need

Furnace Freeze

Text messages come in threes

She’d be better off sleeping

But my girl sits up reading

The nonsense I write

As the window fills with winter white

Rescue me

Furnace Freeze

Phone sits, silently

My friend gone to bed, at last

Glad the moment has passed

But my night ain’t dark enough

There’s a shot in the rough

Undeniably

Furnace Freeze

A chill on the breeze

Four o’clock in the morning

And my mattress is calling

But not with a rose bloom

There’s no glow in the room

No heat, you see

Furnace Freeze

I need a pizza with cheese

No more of these brewed grounds

Some beer I will pound!

Let me celebrate abandonment

And the holes in my tent

Ever free

Furnace Freeze

On eleven-twenty-three

A day without meaning

A bell without ringing

A pair of dice, uncast

My wish, to outlast

Demons dancing daintily

Furnace Freeze

A word solution I see

Among taunts and temptations

There’s a hint of redemption

I write for my supper

For warmth against winter

No retreat

Furnace Freeze

News straight out of Wall Street

Sounds from the other room

Voices echoing through

But I am still silent

No flame in the pilot

Smothered in need

Furnace Freeze

Black Lab at my feet

This journey in prose

Is about to close

The black sun of midnight

Is ready to take flight

I believe

Furnace Freeze

A benediction, for me

The type-trip is over

This is my surrender

Got pages of notes

And a hot stone in my coat

Let me flee

Furnace Freeze

Bow out gracefully

Glad for this mind slip

Glad for this thought trip

Shivering and solemn

The words are my friends

Eternally

Furnace Freeze

There’s an end I can see

When a new flame hits the old match

A fix I will catch

There’ll be fire in the boiler

And I’ll make it through winter

This I decree

Four hours had elapsed while I sat at my desk in the back bedroom. Satisfaction warmed my spirit. Though a fix for the furnace had not yet appeared, there was something more soothing to behold. The sense that my time had not been wasted.

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