In This World, To Carry On, to Carry On

Dr. J. had her baby this morning. A boy.

The Great Boat Sank, and the Okies Fled, and the Great Emancipator…

My thoughts are on Boston. What a hard, terrible week this is, collecting historic evils like morbid charms on a bracelet.

14–Lincoln assassinated

15–This

16–Virginia Tech

17–

18–

19–Waco and OKC

20–Hitler’s birthday and Columbine

Anyway, I don’t have profound thoughts. I’m waiting, still, to hear.

As I suppose we all are.

The Jessamine

I know next to nothing about this plant, so I’ve been watching it out in the fountain, just wondering what’s going to happen. My hope is that it’s going to fill the whole bottom part of the fountain with a flowing mess of foliage and, this time of year, yellow flowers. If it wants to climb up into the bird bath, more power to it. I need to take a picture of it, with its situation in the fountain more clear. It may turn out that, eventually, I have to put some kind of trellis in the fountain, for it to climb, which is going to be hilarious to me and pleasing.

I’m just kind of constantly surprised by how beautiful it is.

TJ’s girlfriend was gushing over our yard. I was like, “Come back in a month, when more than the daffodils are in bloom!”

I also am waiting to see some hollyhocks sprouting. I love how they look against the white of the shed and I’m ready for them to be back where they belong.

Lots of Little Things

1. I love this post about four-leafed clover.

2. The Hooded Utilitarian is running a comics and music roundtable this week. I think my thing on Iron Mans runs Wednesday, but people who know more about comics than me will be writing other days.

3. I wrote about the convention center.

4. I’m worried about my brother. Both times I’ve talked to him, he just sounds not-right. He says everything is fine. The roof is damaged, but not so bad that they can’t live in the house. They have electricity again. But he just sounds tired and angry and, weirdly, his voice is a little deeper than usual. But he’s also doing that bullshitty thing he did about an hour after we bailed him out of jail–where he was all bragging about how he could have done the whole time and complaining about all the ways jail is stupid and unfair (I’m making it sound flip, but he really does have a good eye for system inefficiencies and their resulting bullshit), and basically just acting like it was no big deal. And since I cannot forget what happened right when he got out–how he clung to my dad and sobbed like he had been rescued from an ending world–I suspect that’s how he felt about the damn tornado. But I guess we’re past that point. I still worry.

5. Our friend TJ was recounting his trip to the strip club Saturday night, which I was only half-listening to, when he announced, “Basically, if you’re not wearing two pairs of underwear right now, you’re not getting into the spirit of things!” Which still strikes me as the most hilarious thing ever.

6. I told you guys I was going to learn to do the zig-zag afghan, right? Well, I have been playing around. Now I think I’m going to make a Charlie Brown baby afghan for my co-worker–brown zig zag on a gold field.

7. But I sent the Butcher to buy yarn and he came home with bright, superhero yellow. So, I’m going to first work that up in to something for the impending Phillips. Something kind of superhero-ish. So the baby knows what’s important in this family.

8. The dog and I walked all the way around Cedar Hill Park. Even though she’s old and claims she can’t go for our normal walks. And she was so happy. But, embarrassingly, this was the second week in a row that someone with a rowdy dog has complimented me on how well-behaved Mrs. W. is. Well-behaved! As if I had anything to do with it! No, she got old and lazy.

9. I did have to rescue her from new kitty this morning, who had backed her into a corner and was trying to hit her. Because cats are jerks.

10. We went to roller derby. It was awesome. And that is an understatement. I need roller derby to be televised so that I can drink beer and nap on the couch and wake up every once in a while just to yell so loud it startles the dog just like a real sports fan.