The Randomness! How it Burns!

Zowie, lots of things have been happening! This is going to be another hodge-podge post, because there are simply too many activities orbiting my head all at once.

We were in Minnesota earlier this week for Jason’s grandmother’s funeral. She was a lovely woman and I’m sad I didn’t get to know her better.

When we stopped to refuel on the way home, I was accosted by an adolescent waving a five dollar bill, loitering outside the service station: “Ascuse me, Ascuse me, ASCUSE ME, I lost my ID. Would you buy me a pack of Newports?”

Come on, kid. I look like a cross between Gidget and a librarian from the 1940s. I was in a 4-H club, Brownies, and the parish youth choir as a child. I wear sensible shoes, carry an insulated lunch cooler to work, and bring my own canvas bags to the grocery store. A pack of Newports for a minor…What do you think, Einstein?

I also left my wallet at a Boston’s restaurant in Minnesota—containing my driver’s license, credit cards, insurance cards, and the all-important discount club card for my grocery store. Luckily our server found it and raced to the parking lot to give it to us before we left.

Alas, not every human does the right thing (shocking, no?). An eleven year-old boy in my city had set up a lemonade stand to raise money for a camping trip with his grandparents. Unfortunately, a bully came along and shoved the young entrepreneur off his chair, punched him in the face, and stole the boy’s lemonade money as well as his wallet, which contained his student ID and library card. You’ll be glad to know police have arrested the 17 year-old perpetrator and charged him with robbery and physical abuse of a child.

I’m not even going to comment on this one, because I’m dying to know what all of you think.

The coming weekend is packed with my sister’s baby shower and a going away party for good friends. I KNOW I’ll have some dishy blogging material next week.

Update on book-related items: Riding with Larry Resnick has officially entered the production pipeline! Next phase: copyediting.

Update on the Monarch Ranching: We have eight lovely chrysalides! My wine rack has been recommissioned as a chrysalis staging platform. Aren’t they purty? They’re like melon jellybeans with gold trim. And from these little alien beans will hatch adult monarch butterflies, probably by Monday.

The ones that look like wedding favors were moved from their original inconvenient locations. Indeed, you CAN move a chrysalis...who knew?

Welcome to the Jungle! This is my backyard.

Learn to live like a chick-adee, and you won't go far.