What I saw: it was dark, and my alarm hadn’t gone off yet. The cat stretched out along the length of my body with his two front paws pressed gently on my chin. I was up early to drive the Bacon Provider to the train.
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| Late fall dawn, Bedhead Hills |
What I did beforehand: dreamed about fence-building, and getting knocked over by an eagle.
What I wore: tiger t-shirt ("I just chugged four beers!"), TomboyX flannel jammies pants, insulated waterproof Irish boots, big parka, fingerless mittens.
Thinking about tree stumps today— Hamsteria d'Relish (@hamsterRelish) November 17, 2015
Who went with me: my husband of thirty years.
How I got a ticket: the last speeding ticket I got was about ten years ago. I was driving home from a part-time community college teaching job and failed to check my speed down a big hill past a familiar speed trap. Or maybe it was a couple of years after that, on 520 westbound, with the Graduate in the car. That time I was thinking about how bad things were, but also how much worse they could get. About this I was not wrong.
Why I saw this show: every minute I spend driving someone somewhere is another minute I don't spend wondering why I'm here.
Where I sat: behind the wheel, listening to Tommy Wieringa’s “These are the Names.”
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| Mom & Dad, 1970s Xmas |
Things that were funny: the other day when we got our Xmas tree, I started thinking, as I do every year, about my mother's thing about Christmas. Her name was Sarah, and she would have been 76 today. When I call my brothers on Christmas, they will say, “Sarah Christmas!” to me. My cousins, my mother’s sister Mary’s kids, may text me, “Sarah Christmas,” too.
According to my Aunt Mary, and both of her kids and both of my brothers, the reason we say “Sarah Christmas” is because when Mary was only 3 or 4, she heard people saying “Merry Christmas,” and understood it to mean, “Mary Christmas.” And she felt, in fairness, people should also say, “Sarah Christmas.” I checked with Mary and both of her kids and both of my brothers about this story just the other day. Because, you see, I was writing down why we say, “Sarah Christmas,” and somehow I knew the story differently.
The way I understood it, it was my mother who wanted people to say “Sarah Christmas,” not Mary. It was my mother who wanted it, because she was jealous of her younger sister.
Now, I have always thought this, as far back as I can remember. And I think I am wrong about this. Mary is still sharp as ever, and she remembers. Both her kids remember. And both of my brothers.
So, why did I remember it wrong? Did I learn it wrong? Or, was it that I was too distracted and impatient to listen to the story when I was little, and I never bothered to get it right? Or, did my mother tell me that in secret? Or, did I invent that version, to fit my outlook on my mother?
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| Mary on the left, Sarah on the right, with their Daddy |
Things that were sad: I will never really know why I got it wrong.
Something I ate: a mix of Bob’s Red Mill Honey Oat Granola and Nature’s Path Heritage Flakes with Stonyfield Farm organic 1% milk, with a large spoon.
What it is: something I will not argue I am right about, nor is it something I will revise my thinking about. It is, as they say, what it is.
My cat says, "I like being a cat because all my opinions are bizarre and everyone else's opinions are wrong."— Hamsteria d'Relish (@hamsterRelish) February 20, 2016
Who should say it: all of us. We should all say “Sarah Christmas.”
Things that were not funny: on the way to town, we saw a black car sitting on the shoulder of the road. Sometimes the local police wait for speeders under the nearby bridge, so I thought maybe it was just that.
What I saw on the way home: I got a better look at it on my way back. The ground was all torn up from the skid, and its front bumper was gone. It had spun and wound up perpendicular to the road. Only the dense brush had held it back from falling backwards into a ravine.
If I am ever killed in a car accident, don't give the media my selfies for fuck's sake— Hamsteria d'Relish (@hamsterRelish) April 13, 2016
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