Amaryllis sillyramA

The other day I was walking around the corner to a friend’s house to pick up my kids. It was not yet five o’clock and not quite all the way dark. We live on a busy street and usually people drive faster than they should there. As I walked I noticed a long line of cars approaching, going way slower than the speed limit. I watched the cars get nearer until finally, in the dim light, I could make out the cause: a tiny dog running full tilt down the road. I think it was a Chihuahua. The car right behind it was flashing its flashers and keeping its distance. The dog + car procession passed me and headed on down the road. A man came sprinting in the same direction, and I thought Oh there’s the owner, that’s a relief. Then I noticed his jogging outfit and I heard him shouting. “Is that dog still going? I’m not the owner!” Damn.

I couldn’t chase the dog. I wouldn’t have caught him; I’m not that fast in rain boots. If I did chase him and managed to get close to him, what then? Accidentally spook him into oncoming traffic? Where on earth is he going? Is he my other neighbor-friend’s dog? The friend who recently lost his first dog to a leash malfunction on a busy road? This dog is long gone now and I have done nothing but look and think. A minute or two has passed. I’m no help.

Better go get my girls.

Today, the first clear cold day so far this November, the four year old and I were having a close look at a couple of ducks at the pond near my work.

Me: Oh, let’s back up a bit, we don’t want to drive them into the water on a cold day like this.

Her: It’s a good day for a swim! Or a good day for a fly? To keep warm!

Saw this in The Stranger this morning, in Anna Minard’s morning news column. As she said:

Watch This Interview with a Tornado Survivor: Just watch it, I’m telling you.

Wow:

Until I saw this, I had no idea that the sun rotates. Beautiful.

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But wait! The film was probably made by some orbiting device… so maybe the sun does not rotate. I will have to look into that.

At the Crocodile! Live and in person!

An amazing show. The music was awesome. And I haven’t been on the fringes of a mosh pit for a long time. Love! After the show we lingered outside, talking for a little while. Then headed over to the coffee place. Then when we were headed to the car, finally away from the crowds, one of us noticed that Rob Wright was walking along right in front of us. Someone said, great show, thank you! And he acknowleged that. And someone said something else maybe? And he acknowleged that too? And then I said, no, stop! And he turned around! And I gave him a hug and said, “I saw you twenty years ago and it was memorable, and tonight was even better.” And he acknowleged that too. I can’t believe I managed to do that without bursting into tears.

While I write this I’m watching the episode of ST:TNG wherein Geordi falls in love with the holodeck version of Leah Brahms. I keep seeing these shots of this treacherous asteroid field. But a few nights ago I was at the theater showing of “The Best of Both Worlds” (Aaa! What a night!) and during the extras, we found out that some of the early asteroid fields were filmed using granola. Ha! Granola! And sure enough, the asteroids totally look like granola!

In other words, it’s been a good week.