Driving to a nearby town, today, I saw a curious ballet of sea gulls. A tractor was out in the fields tilling under the last of the fall stubble, and as it moved slowly forward, an undulating wake of white birds followed along after it. There must have been 40 or 50 gulls in the furrows behind the tractor, each leapfrogging over those in front to get to the most newly tilled inches of soil. Altogether, they trailed the tractor for about 20 feet. And as I drove on, I saw other gulls flying purposefully toward that field, ready to join in the dance.
The First Snow
This is the scene I woke up to yesterday morning. Beautiful.
Snow is sort of like puppies or kittens or babies. It can be annoying, and it can mess up your plans, but it’s impossible to truly resent it. I wished I hadn’t had to travel 100 miles yesterday, dodging all the other people on the highway who hadn’t driven in snow for a while either. And yet all I could do all morning was stare out the windows at the picturesque landscape.
Vanity, Vanity
This weekend, in a fit of self-indulgence, I painted my nails. I haven’t actually done this since I can remember, so I was pretty out of practice. And I don’t think I’ve ever done it while a cat tried to decide if this was a game or an attempt on his life (he definitely did not approve of the smell).
One thing that puzzles me, though, is why I also painted my toenails. It’s winter. I wear socks all the time. On the rare occasions when I wear nylons to work I’m definitely not going around in open-toed shoes.
All I can imagine is that if somebody is in an accident and for some reason needs my shoes and socks, the passers-by will admire not only my generosity in the face of freezing temperatures, but also my beautifully painted toenails.
I’m Set for Life
I just got my yearly update from the Social Security office. If I retire, and IF social security still exists when I do, I’ve finally made enough over the course of my lifetime that I could, maybe, pay for my groceries every month.
It’s sort of like going around GO in Monopoly. You’re all happy to have the money, but then you realize that it’s play money… and that you just landed on another guy’s hotel.
My Recalcitrant Hair
Getting ready for church this morning I noticed that my hair is doing it’s thing again. It’s too long, right now. I haven’t had it cut since the last week of June, though I’ve been meaning to find the time for the last six weeks. But when it gets long like this it starts thinking that it can gang up on me. Suddenly, my hair is calling the shots.
So this morning, knowing that I was running a little late, my hair decided to give me a nice mixture of curls and sections of absolute straightness. And then, just for emphasis, just to drive home its total mastery, it threw in one long ringlet right down the left side of my face. Nothing makes the rest of your hair look unkempt quite like one shining, orderly ringlet.