Scaffold - January 11, 2012

[note: this was written during a writing exercise: we had 20 minutes to write something inspired by the word "scaffold". This is the result, unedited, exactly as it appeared when time ran out]

Scaffold - Squiddy Geiger - January 11, 2012

Gerry's world was getting grimmer, but he persevered, slogging through the piles of legal garbage he was being buried in, as he tried to navigate the civil court system. Nothing seemed to go right, from legal challenges that kept his submissions out of the record, to people who'd promised support, but when the time came, were nowhere to be found.

He was getting by because of the support system he'd built around himself; people who would listen, and give advice, or just be there with drink at opportune moments. This was a support system he'd built up carefully over many years.

The first level of the scaffolding of support was his family. Some families fragmented, but his family had worked to keep everyone on good terms, working through rough spots here and there as the inevitable squabbles and disagreements; these had become less frequent the older he and his siblings grew, and now were exceedingly rare.

The next level of the scaffolding was his friends. He'd added them slowly, starting with Bill in elementary school. Stephie and Karl had followed in high school - they'd eventually married each other. His friend Urta from University, and his co-worker Ed rounded out the friendships he trusted and relied on so heavily.

The final level of support came from his wife of 14 years. She fit on two levels, really, an extra layer of support. She'd been his friend in University, and later, dated and married. She was his rock; the level of immediate support upon which everything rested.

The entire scaffolding of family, friends, and love kept him going. He should his head and smiled, and dove back into the mass of documentation he needed to read before his next meeting with the lawyers.

Posted by Squiddy at January 11, 2012 08:30 PM | TrackBack