Competition

At last Deb and Craig put down their bets and, best of all, they're with me for the Patriots!  I was feeling a little lonely up there on the board all by myself.  Cam had jumped into the pool with the Eagles.  That's okay, I'll be happy to take her nickel, too.  I can imagine there will be a whole lot of texting going on on Sunday, some of it in capital letters, the text equivalent of shouting.  (My family is nothing if not competitive.)

So far, so good with It.  I found no new excavations yesterday, so it seems my plan is working.  There were a number of squooshed  black-and-whites in the road yesterday, so I know skunks are out and about.  I don't wish It any harm, but I do want him to move on.  Probably thirty years ago, I heard a song on the radio that cracked me up.  It's the only song I've ever called in to a station to request, just to hear it again.  "Dead Skunk In The Middle Of The Road" by Loudon Wainright III (1972) was the perfect theme song for someone like myself who would sometimes travel four hundred miles a day as a consultant at the time.  I could tell the seasons of the year by which critters (squirrels, skunks, raccoons, etc.) had their minds elsewhere when they tried to cross the country roads I drove.  Skunks can't compete against cars. (I would not recommend the YouTube video for the squeamish, but the words are as funny as ever.)  It's amazing how fast and far skunk scent will travel, and how nauseatingly pungent it is.

I had to go into town (again!) for an ultrasound of a suspicious shadow the oncologist felt warranted a closer look.  A preliminary reading showed nothing cancerous.  This going back and forth is wearing.

It took Tessie for-ev-er to go into her room last evening.  She tries my patience, but there's no hurrying the process.  She seems to read my mind, as she finally relents about the time I think, "Okay, lady, you can just stay outside tonight.  I guarantee you won't like it.  It's your choice."  It was almost dark when Bess and I got back to the house.  It was a long day.