Quick hits.

For a short work week, this week has seemed incredibly long. These are some of the random thoughts that have flitted through my mind:

Things with my personal assistant are working out swimmingly. She is energetic and trustworthy and optimistic and is doing a great job of knocking out projects that have been hanging over my head for years! I am also learning in working with her that just as a number of people think I should cut myself some slack, I need to cut my house some slack, in accepting certain qualities that are part of having an older house that will never be perfect like a brand new house. I am partial to old houses because of their charming quirks and will try to remember to accept the less beautiful quirks along with the more charming ones.

This article about the returning popularity of the scooter made me remember the cute red one I bought for myself in college. I didn't have a car and the scooter was perfect for getting around my then-small college town. I loved zipping around town on it, except for the state law requirement that I wear a helmet while doing so. To ensure that I was as nerdy as possible, I attached a light blue grocery crate to the back for toting around things that would not fit in my backpack. I even received my first traffic ticket on the scooter, for not fully stopping at a stop sign. (It was during my court appearance on this ticket--in which I offered into evidence photos showing the officer could not have possibly seen whether I fully stopped from his vantage point--when the judge suggested that I might consider going to law school). Strangely, I cannot recall now what happened to the scooter when, thanks to my Dad, I had a car at school in my senior year.

Aren't barns beautiful?





I find it interesting that my dog Kip--who has never met a stranger--instantly and obviously disliked the only guy I have ever dated who was physically abusive to me, even though he never actually saw the guy be physically abusive. No dummy, that Kip.

I returned home from Chicago to a car with a completely dead starter, which has since been replaced at no small cost to me. My car's 19th trip to the shop in the time I have owned it spurred a frenzied research expedition for a new car in a quest for reliability. I was to the point of planning test drives for the weekend, when I came to my senses and thought: Hey, you want to go into civil rights work full-time, in a city where one uses public transportation and doesn't even have a car--what the heck are you doing thinking of taking on a car payment? Back to reality. Sigh.

Here's the rest of the Salman Rushdie story that Jay requested: Rushdie was speaking at an Arts and Letters Live event in Dallas last year, talking about his newest book and hoping against hope that he could get through just one talk without a million questions about the fatwa. Of course, he could not. But during his talk, he referred to the fact that he is a devoted fan of the New York Yankees, whining, I believe, about his team's loss to the Boston Red Sox in the 2004 playoffs (which came after the Yankees lost 4 straight games, having initially taking a 3-0 lead against the Red Sox in the ALCS). My friend and I were having Rushdie autograph books for us after the talk and I tried desperately while we stood on line to think of something non-fatwa related to discuss with him. My mind returned to his words about baseball and the Yankees, as I was going to New York that summer to watch the Cubs play the Yankees. When we finally reached Rushdie and I proferred my book for his signature, I asked if he would be at the games. He said he might take in one of the games. I then gently chided him for his whining, saying that Cubs fans know the disappointment of a lost game in a way that no Yankee fan ever will. He appeared somewhat amused by the comment, but is not a very warm and fuzzy guy, so we didn't exactly guffaw together. I guess that is to be expected of someone who has lived to talk of a death threat from an Ayatollah.

On another note, my friend Jay who owns this really cute dog thinks that Rushdie's beautiful Indian model/wife is not a very nice person, as she appeared completely indifferent to his dog in a fashion store in Chelsea, rather than gushing over him like 99% of humans do:



I hope you all have a great weekend! I am looking forward to spending my first weekend at home in the last three weeks. Who knows, I may even engage in some photojournalism regarding my recent travels! This is my version of a "gone fishing" sign: