Carl phoned me yet again. Carl does this throughout the week, every week. I hope someone takes Carl's telephone away. He says "Hail." He says that then silence. Carl has made a habit of this.

I moved into down the street from his house about a year ago. Everyone knows each other and Carl posits this intimacy, this fate nearness is reason to take over communication like Carl is the friendliest Stalin in history.

So what did Carl have to say this time? Passionately he tells me to come over; he had something very cool to show me. I walk over after I'd listed a bunch of excuses. He quickly unfurled them to the only subterfuge. He is good at this. If Carl is good at one thing, that thing is unfurling

His accommodations are about as boisterous as Carl's temperament. As I approach I recall that his yard usually displays seasonal decorations. Winter is just coming to an end and so what does he have propped up? A large, decorative bunny. Gaudy, swaying, it greets me as I head towards his porch. Carl pops out the door before I am able to knock. He has an ear-to-ear smirk. He leads me by the crux of my elbow back out to the front lawn. He looks up. I follow his lead. We're both looking up. Things aren't looking up.

"See that?" Nope. "It's a brand new gutter cover." Wow. "It's awesome". He tells me the cover stops leaves and stuff from building up, which limits how often I have to clean it."And Carl, finally, had something worthwhile.