Ray Rasmussen
The Handyman’s Handy Slogan
Whenever I visit Jack, he’s usually in the garage or the garden, sipping coffee from his favourite mug with the re‑glued handle and the slogan: “World’s Okayest Grandpa.” Among friends and family, he’s the “World’s Best Handyman.”
Last month he dropped by “for a quick visit,” fixed my bathroom fan, installed a new air conditioner, and brushed off my thanks on the way out the door.
A week later, his sister phoned in tears. “They found a mass in one of Jack’s organs,” she said. “He won’t talk to me about it. Could you go see him?”
The next morning Jack and I are at his kitchen table, drinking coffee. While we chat, he’s busy replacing the plug on his toaster.
“How’d the tests go?” I ask.
“My sister’s been talking to you, hasn’t she?” he says. “The doc’s just looking under the hood. No big deal.”
“And you? How are you doing?”
He shrugs. “It is what it is.”
I let that sit, watch his hands working the screwdriver.
“Ever feel like it isn’t that simple?” I finally say.
He frowns. “What do you want me to say? That I’m scared? Can’t sleep? I don’t see the point.”
The toaster is fixed, we spread butter and cherry jam on toast, and start on fresh cups of coffee. Finally, he says, “I’ll know more when the doc calls. Until then, really, it just is what it is. What else can I say?”
cicada nymphs emerge,
sing, mate, lay eggs
and die—
for them it really is
what it is
About the Author
Ray Rasmussen has edited a variety of haibun journals and has published his haibun, haiga and haiku widely in journals and anthologies. He lives with his partner, Nancy, in a mixed hardwood forest in Ontario, Canada, where they enjoy hiking, canoeing, and snowshoeing. Ray’s haibun collection, Landmarks, is available on Amazon.com. His haibun blog is “All Things Haibun.”