observations

Regis and I went to Patrick's for dinner. I was eavesdropping on a booth down the way that contained two gentlemen who, by looking, were not much older than we are. The one guy said to the waitress, "So, what's the deal with these wings? What are they?" She tries to explain chicken wings. Then he says, "What's honey mustard sauce?" And she tried to explain honey mustard: "Um, it's honey and mustard in a sauce." I could tell she wanted to say, "Jeeez, dude, don't you ever get out?"

I've had a head cold for two days. I've tried everything for a cure: dayquil, cetirizine, tylenol, hot brandy, buffalo wings. Not all at the same time, of course, but nothing works. Actually the buffalo wings worked as well as anything. I will never brag again about not having a cold for a long time. Hubris.

I've been thinking about children I knew who are now adults. When they're kids, you think they are always going to be reprobates but somehow they grow up to be productive citizens. Here are some examples:

Nick came to visit when he was about four. My husband (at the time) had never experienced children that age so when Nick had a tantrum about something and grabbed our ficus tree and shook it like a hurricane force wind, we looked askance and tried to imagine that he would not wind up in prison. He's a social studies teacher now, studying to be a school administrator.

Nathan was the child of some friends who often stayed later than might have been good for a child. When they woke Nathan to go home, he would do that stiffening up thing and slide through their arms into a pile on the floor. Sometimes it took a long time to persuade him to move toward the car. He teaches flight lessons to pilots at a major university now. (I just read that sentence over...flight lessons to pilots as opposed to flight lessons to passengers. Now that's funny.)

Sarah's parents built a house and lived in a camper one summer when she was a child. When we went to visit, she would come around the corner of the house, blonde curly hair full of leaves, mud up to her knees, like a feral child. She just completed a master's degree in math and is doing research to prepare for a Ph. D.

True stories. There are some lessons here for parents. And maybe teachers. And for humans. Kids don't come out fully formed so don't expect much until they grow up.

My ribs hurt from sneezing. Not coughing, sneezing. These are sneezes that will knock you on your ass. Not sneezing for sissies. I saw the president on tv last night. He sounded like he had a cold but he wasn't sneeziing or wiping his nose. I want his doctors and his drugs.

Hey, there's a new waitress at Patrick's who is from London. I asked her if she knew the Beatles. I didn't really, but I asked the next waitress (not from London) and she said she knew OF the Beatles. Ahhhh. It served me right.

Well, that's enough silliness for one night.