More Gator Tales

In the news yesterday . . . an alligator was found under a car in the Entergy parking lot. Apparently, at night alligators travel, and this 5-foot guy left his Pearl River home and decided to go to town. When the sun began to rise, he quickly looked for shade and found it under Ms. Entergy Employee's car. Fortunately, some co-workers spotted him before she did and the Dept. of Wild Life was quickly called in. My favorite part of the story is her comment upon discovering the gator: 'I don't have time for this!" A classic mother-response when her schedule is so rudely interrupted, even by a 5-foot gator!

A robbery, caught on videotape, was broadcast on the local news last night. Two men, both wearing helmets, pulled up and parked in front of a convenience store. The man riding in the rear jumps off and enters the store. He announces that this is a robbery and demands the money from the register. Then he demands money from all the customers in the store. He goes around, one by one, taking money, but pauses at a young girl, and says 'I like you . . . you can keep your money." She replies, "Thank you." Then he leaves. So girls, make sure you always look nice--it may save your wallet during a hold-up!

Mississippi Moment

I am communing with Nature again, but this time it is not snakes but frogs. Outside my kitchen window we have thick bushes and shrubs; it's where Buddy, our black lab, likes to hunker down in the dirt and stay cool. At night, attracted to our kitchen lights, all kinds of creatures gather, mostly insects of various types, but lizards and frogs as well. In August in Mississippi you hear the frogs; their chorus of croaking surrounds you as you drive into your driveway or take the garbage cans to the street in the evening. It's rare to actually see them, unless its splattered on the road, an unfortunate accident for many a frog crossing a street in our neighborhood. At our window, however, a couple of frogs have appeared regularly, one big, one small, and I am absolutely convinced that it is a father and son. Dad's teaching Junior the finer art of catch and grab. I can just hear him saying: "Son, be patient," or "Like this, Junior--just stay still and then make the leap." Lately the Browns have been greatly entertained by the show, which recently took a humorous turn last night. Junior appeared at the window sill looking straight into the kitchen at me so I decided to speak directly to him: '"How are you this evening?" "Going to eat?" "You sure do look handsome tonight." What do you say to a frog? Anyway, I think he enjoyed the conversation because he started opening his mouth right back at me and taking his froggy feet back and forth over his froggy head. Now, I am not familiar with frog mating rituals, but I think this frog was flirting with me. I know; it's pathetic, but I have recently entered that wondeful new phase of feminine life (Thanks, Emily, for the CD of Menopause the Musical) and have not been feeling too attractive lately. I will take any kind of attention, even from the green, bug-eyed froggy variety. Thanks, Kermit.

Vacation with the Browns

So, here we are in California. You can tell it's California because we have coats on in July...something unheard of in MS of course. It was great. That's not a particularly imaginative way to describe a vacation, but it fits. It was great in every way and if we were doomed to visit only one place over and over again for the rest of our lives, we would pick San Francisco at this point.










I included this pic because I haven't seen rattlesnakes eating squirrels in the wild very much (actually only this once), and I thought it would be nice to share. Gross, but interesting. My Wild Kingdom moment occurred at the base of Yosemite Falls. The snake was surrounded by tourists with cameras and cell phones. Poor fella couldn't get away because he couldn't let go of his lunch. I suspect that I will never be within a couple of feet of a big rattlesnake like this again...at least not on purpose.


Here is my lovely family visiting Alcatraz. We walked all over the place and Sam was distressed by the realilty of the place. He did not like the audio tour...the voices of the old inmates and guards made it a bit too real for him, I think. I told them if they made bad grades in school that they would end up in here. OK, so I don't win the good parenting award, but it was quite motivating for them.






Here's me and the missus. My nephew went to some island paradise with his new wife and posted great pictures of them in swimsuits drinking and having young fun. Well this is what fun looks like when you are nearing 50. We had a blast. I can't wait to see his pics after kids.







If you get our Christmas cards, you may see this picture again. This is Pt. Reyes. It's cold and windy and smells like sea lions, but I loved it.











If you liked these pics, let me know and I'll put up some more. I may also get motivated to post a photologue about Sam's new life as a Mississippi football player. I think he likes it. He wears my high school jersey. He is 10.

Latest Books

I haven't blogged in awhile, with the beginning of school, but I will comment quickly on two books I have recently finished: Fieldwork, by Mischa Berlinski, an excellent academic-inspired novel that reads like a memoir but is pure fiction (the lines continue to blur). The title refers to the work an anthropologist does when he/she goes into the field to study a particular group up close. The anthropologist at the center of this novel is a woman who, when the novel opens, is serving time in a Thai prison for murder. A curious writer researches her story and a complex and interesting tale unfolds that connects Christian missionaries to this anthropologist and the Thai natives she is studying. I also finished Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God which is essential reading, in my humble opinion, for women today. Books on tap: Revolutionary Road (Richard Yates); Frankenstein (Mary Shelley); and A Room of One's Own (Virginia Woolf).

Sam's Movie Recommendations

After I saw The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor, I wanted to see the first Mummy which was much better than the Mummy 3. Yesterday I went to see Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, which was good and very Interesting. Those are two movies you should see.

More Reviews to come Sam

Sam's Movie Recommendations

I have recently rented Superhero Movie and School of Rock. I also saw The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. Superhero movie and School of Rock were good, but The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor was just okay. I thought Superhero Movie was the funniest movie I've seen all year and it was very clever. School of Rock was also very funny and had good music. Sam

What I am Reading

While traveling I have been reading and want to suggest a few good books. I read Cormac McCarthy's The Road because I knew I had to--Entertainment Weekly named The Road the best book of the last 25 years and it is currently being made into a movie--both reasons enough for me. It was an excellent book: disturbing, fascinating, and important for the vision it presents and the issues it forces us to confront and discuss. I highly recommend it. Then I read another book on Entertainment Weekly's list and one I have meant to read for awhile: Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking. Another excellent book that distinguishes between mourning and grieving and made me appreciate my marriage. I thought it was more about love, not death. And, finally I read what I consider required Mississippi reading: Willie Morris's Good Ol' Boy, which paints a perfect picture of Yazoo City, Mississippi, through the eyes of an 11-year-old boy. A fun, lighthearted book about small-town Mississippi. What's next on the night table? I am still thiking; I will keep you posted.