THE LAST LEAF by FOTESS A woman walks through a forest of tall trees. A cool breeze is blowing as the summer comes to a close. The trees begin to shiver as a squirrel scurries through on a hunt for the bountiful harvest from the nut trees. A single leaf falls. The woman raises her eyes skyward, to learn the source of the falling leaf, the largest she has ever seen. She is delighted to discover it is from a rare and beautiful native, the Bigleaf Magnolia. Suddenly, something else catches her eye. As she paused, looking up at the tree, Lucille realized that it was much colder than it had been when she parked the truck at the trailhead. Looking west she could see thick grey clouds flying ahead of the wind. "I better head back and check on the animals," The woman said to herself. As she turned and headed back down the trail, an Elvish figure stepped away from the tree, smiled, and nodded his head. For several seconds, she screamed in awesome fear. Then a quiet, comforting peace consumed her in to a devoted trance. She could not speak. She could not move. Lucille’s paralyzed body fell to the soft earth. The short, rather ugly, non-human like being approached her. He stooped down on to his knees, ever so close to her now frail body. She saw his ears were not ears but luscious golden veined, red leaves. She smiled. His distorted fingers caringly closed her eyes and then he took her hands in to his. Butterflies in a myriad of colors flutter past Lucille's frail body. Enchanting objects flying around like little pixies. Lucille gently reopens her eyes to a magical forest. Dancing pink magical mushrooms wander this forest in very operatic voices. Where am I, she cries?? A faint cackle taunts her in the distance. She frantically looks down and remembers nothing but that mysterious single leaf. Lucille looks around to the new magical world she has found herself in.There are flowers of all different colors,fairies flying to and fro and all of a sudden she realizes she is a fairy,with wings and all of the mixed hues of a leaf colors in autumn!!! But she wants to go home to her animals and has a feeling that mysterious leaf is her only link to finding her way home.but how can she find the leaf? The leaves she sees here are the beautiful colors of autumn.The mysterious leaf was green!! Lucille slumped down in a slough of despair. "Oh, what to do, what to do," she cried. "Not a fairy! I don't even know how to fly - nor do I want to learn! I want to go home!" She stood up and looked around at the colorful landscape and all the fluttering, singing beings. "This is all very pretty, albeit a bit garish. But pretty as it is, it is still just a bit creepy. These pink mushrooms are really getting on my nerves." She wandered a few paces down the path. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw what appeared to be a moving forest! As it came closer, she saw it was a whole group of the little Elvish figures, chanting " Where is the Last Leaf?" over and over. In addition to ears that looked like leaves, their bodies looked barky, with knot holes, and their arms were very twiggy. "Gee," thought Lucille, "if I find the Last Leaf for them, maybe they'll tell me how to get out of here!" As the chanting of the Elvish figures grew louder Lucille trembled. What to do, stay and talk to them or run and hide. Although she wanted to hide she deceided to stay as they might know how she can find her way home. Soon they circled around Lucille chanting "where is the last leaf." Lucille asked," can you please help me find my way home." "No," said the biggest and angriest creature, we want the last leaf. "Why are you looking for the last leaf ," asked Lucille. The smallest one stepped forward and said," Our mother, Mrs. Maganolia said we cannot sleep until the last leaf falls and we are getting very tired as we have been swaying in the wind since last spring. Just then the large angry creature said, "I bet she is hiding the last leaf, lets go get her." Lucille tries to turn away as the largest creature approaches, but finds it difficult to move. Pain knifes through her skull as the fading light penetrates the twin slits of her eyelids and her vision is clouded in gouts of red fog. She puts her hand to her head and it comes away sticky. As she strives for lucidity, warm breath bathes her cheek and she hears snuffling. A gray horse is standing above her just on the other side of a fence she had not noticed earlier. Fully awake now, Lucille realizes that she is lying on the ground and begins to assess the damage. On her forehead a large bloody lump throbs with every heartbeat, but nothing seems broken. Near her foot a twisted root tells the story of her fall even if she can't recall the accident. Struggling to get up, she remembers the menacing creatures from her unconscious fantasy and chides herself for her vivid imagination. Brushing away twigs and leaves clinging to her clothes, she makes her way back to the truck, again passing the Bigleaf Magnolia. It is bare. "Was there one large leaf there before, one that fell?", she asks herself as she climbs into the driver's seat. Her eyes scan the forest's edge as she tries to reconcile her memory of trees just beginning their transition from summer to fall with the reality of the nearly leafless spectacle before her. Everything about her adventure is becoming a little hazy as she tries to piece together the afternoon's events. On the drive home she decides to feed the animals quickly and drive to the ER to be checked for concussion. When she slides gingerly out of the truck so as not to reawaken the pain in her head, she does not notice the debris that falls from her hair. Green, perfect, vibrant and pulsing with life, it is the last leaf. the end

I do have the original stand, which I will keep. It is low folding wood, only 15” high. I can’t use that height, though. At that height the table has no useful function. No one is going to sit on the floor to use it. My friend was going to sell the tray table, and I knew I was going to regret it once it was gone. I said I would take it only if I could find a table of the height I needed that would work with it: fast! I need it to hold a reading lamp and a cup of tea. My current table is 27 inches, perfect height, but way too big for the space, and wrong style (it’s a modern brass console table). Building a platform under the original legs would look awkward. I would have to almost double the height. I mocked something up last week and it looked really contrived. When I saw this, perfect height and diameter, I asked myself, “What are the odds I’ll ever find something better?” So I bought it. It was only $ 25. That’s good around here for a table that is not hopelessly beat up and in need of repair and refinishing. Oddly enough, it is very stable. I didn’t see it til I got the table home, but the top is slightly cupped. The slight curve of the brass tray fits right into it. I was planning on securing the top with a ring of silicone caulk anyway. Consensus seems to be that it does not go. I will use it as it is, and hope something better turns up in the next few years. Patty cakes, interesting about your large trays. I have a huge rectangular one I bought from a friend’s son over 20 years ago. He had tried to clean it with brasso and got white residue in all the grooves, and gave up on it. It’s ideal coffee table size. I have NEVER been able to find anything that would work for a base. I still have it in the basement. I always hoped I would make some legs someday. Or hang it on the wall. Or something. At this point, the coffee table niche is long filled (with a 30” round brass tray table that HAS its own base, and was already clean when I bought it.) But I still have not gotten rid of the big rectangular one. Can’t bring myself to do it. I’ll take another picture with it in place.

Whew! I've been wondering how he's doing, and how you're also doing. A major worry gone. Feels great, huh? Happy dance! Or do people still say that? :)

About midnight (several years ago) I got up to go to the bathroom (in the dark) and saw something scurry across the floor. Good thing I was seated. I yelled loudly, several times for husband, (who was and had been asleep for hours, and trying to awaken him in the middle of the night is akin to awakening the dead) closed the door to the potty room and shoved a rug at the base. Husband finally appears in all bleary eyed, assesses the situation and then wants to know what I expect him to do. Well DUH. Me: "Get a mouse trap from the garage." Him: “There are no mouse traps. I’m not going to look for one now. I’ll get it in the morning.” "By morning there will be a 100 mice in there, you’ve got to set it NOW. OR at least some duct tape to seal up the cracks around the door!" He stands guard outside the bathroom door, (less than pleased) while I go search for a mouse trap. I find one, bait it and take it to him. He gets it set, I open the door and he says, “It’s not a mouse, it’s a RA-bbiT.” All I hear is “RA—T” WHAT?? A RAT???“ “NO It’s a baby bunny!” Amazing how your whole attitude changes from a being freaked out to “awwww it’s a cute little bunny.”IN MY HOUSE no less. AT MIDNIGHT. He hands me a towel to I chase it around the toilet, it runs out and into the shower. I am standing about 1/2 way in the door way of the shower, not real sure if I want to get in there or not. I still wasn't positive it was a bunny. Husband pushes me inside the shower and shuts the door behind me. I finally caught it and took it outside and turned it loose. No idea how it got inside OR how long it had been in there! The dog feeding station is in the bathroom, and I had noticed pieces of dog food in various areas of the room. I thought the dogs were scattering it. Nope. Oh and our ever vigilant wiener dogs? Those vicious, fearless, badger hunting dogs? They slept through the whole thing. They’re an embarrassment to their species! They probably let it in to begin with.