#1 – I woke this morning for the first time in four years wanting to hear the news. Everyday for the past four years I have waken dreading what may happen. The dreadful apprehension was not unlike those someone has who is living with a violent person whose actions you cannot predict. Those feelings were gone this morning. It felt good. I think of the Ferryman in the Russian folktale “The Luck Child”, who was trapped in his job, only to learn how to be released from his sorrow:

“For the first time in years, hope fires the Ferry-man. A smile is forming in his mind, a tiny smile growing, getting ready to be born”.

#2 – There are shenanigans afoot in the blogger world that I am not always able to leave comments for thems using Blogger.com.  Perhaps the website is in cahoots with my laptop. I hope I can figure this as I hate dropping by without leaving a comment lest folks think I am not reading their prose.

#3 – Would anyone would like some Jello-salad?. The Board of Directors Here at Spo-Reflections over-estimated the attendance at last night’s ball at Heorot Johnsons, resulting in leftovers. Heaps in fact. Act quickly as cottage cheese and Salmon mold isn’t likely to keep. Also, there are a few Tupperware containers without masking tape labels. 

#4 – Alas, Babylon! I won’t be having any free lemons this year. The lemon tree that overhangs the public sidewalk was severely pruned back last autumn and there is no sign of any fruit. Uncle Albertsons has lots of lemons but they are not as juicy as thems that fall off the local trees. I was worried I wouldn’t get any grapefruit as these are brought to the Mesa office and I haven’t been there since March. I thought to travel there to get some, when lo! a neighbor down the street set out by the curb eight bags of grapefruit, all for the taking. I took two bolsas, each filled with a dozen medium-sized yellow gems. I am a happy man. I must look up to see which way these lovelies effect my blood pressure meds. I am either going to stroke-out or drop from hypotension, depending which way the wind blows on the grapefruit/Rx interactions. Either way it’s worth it.

#5 – Speaking of five, I recently found on YouTube “The five Chinese brothers”. This story was a favorite in my youth; I was thrilled to hear it again. I remembered every picture. Oh the horror; oh the pain! It is so stereotypical it makes me squirm. It is along the line of ‘what on earth were we thinking?”  I wonder how many other childhood story books of mine are now considered rude and racist? How times have changed – and I think for the better. The story remains a good one, so perhaps someone can redraw it with less discomfort.