Hippo or Jackie Brown?

Here's a picture of my dog Jackie Brown from when we adopted her last year. I was reminded of this when I went to see the hippos at the zoo.

Which is which you may ask?

(She was pretty sick when we got her last year. But under our love and care she is all fit and trim and happy. No more hippo lookalike contests for her!)

trip to the zoo

First I want to make this disclaimer. Zoos are terrible ideas in my opinion. They are mean and horrible ways to capture precious creatures while every yahoo and his or her family can go and gawk at them. They make me sad and shamed.
That said, Saturday was a free day.

So my rationale for going to zoo was that I would not be donating a single penny to the cause of zoo. I was just there to spectate.

Needless to say, the animals were amazing.

rear view

I walked to my truck with my hood pulled around my face
eyes stinging from the biting wind.
I scrambled for my keys, apologizing for busting to the front of the crowd
with such lightning speed.
Each frigid face left behind
like a memory of things that never existed.
My life can travel at this speed,
forging ahead into the great unknown,
forgetting to notice the life it leaves behind.

-Summer Richards, 1/29/08

too much to drink + hotel room = FUN

belonging

Coming home, you belong to someone,
in a sense,
this is what coming home means.
There is someone that is yours
and you theirs.

"Where were you last night?
You seemed a million miles away."
She continued what she was doing,
never really acknowledging the question
instead asking if perhaps they should drink some wine.
Her smile was subtle,
like she still retained mysteries
that even those whom she belonged to
would never really know.

-Summer Richards, 1/22/08

cornershop

Who is this band Cornershop? I love them! A couple of months ago Mike and I were in Boston and we found a lady on Craigslist who wanted to rent out her apartment to us for the weekend. It was a sweet deal. Anyway I brought my laptop and ended up raiding her music and putting it on my hard drive. That's how I discovered Cornershop. They are FUN! When I put them on I want to do silly little dances around the living room. I haven't heard a sound like that in a while and it makes me quite happy. Mike says that they've been around for a while but they are definitely new to me! I also discovered that I like Michelle Shocked and for some reason before I thought that I didn't.

http://www.cornershop.com/

moving

when things get comfortable
they sure can feel small
it seems there's a move
at the end of each fall.

it's kind of sad to leave,
even for someplace better.
this place that's been home
will soon be a stranger.

a trite little ditty about love

I think I've learned a few things about love.

Love comes in the bedroom and jumps on the bed when you're trying to do work.
It calls you when its going to be late.
It lets you sing christmas carols loudly and will even dance funny little dances with you as you sing.
Love sits quietly beside you, doing a crossword puzzle, while you sit there in all your frenzy trying to think of the best way to be productive.
Love looks at you and laughs at your silliness,
even when you're not laughing.
Love will smile and eat the butternut squash you cooked
even though it tastes like shit and you know it.

That's the thing about love,
it's complimentary
and juxtaposed.

putting the bitch to good use

this weekend it snowed. Mike and I decided to try a new trick. We put a harness on our dog, Jackie Brown, got out the innertube, and used her like a horse while she pulled one of us behind her down the street and through the park. It worked.

She's a big girl.

stumbled upon this old email...

From: me
To: Dad
Thanks Dad, the pictures are great! But you said they were A and A and I only got A (Allister). What gives? How are you doing? Are you doing physical therapy yet? I'm not moving to the city by the way. I'm staying where I am. For now. I miss you. Thanks for taking those pics. Kiss my kitties for me. On the mouth.
okay, love summer

From: Dad
To: Me
Hi SummerI'm sorry to have to report to you that Andrew has died. After I got youre-mail to kiss your kitties on the lips I did just that. Allister was okaywith it but Andrew started gagging. I guess I stuck my tounge too far downhis throat. I couldn't tell he was in distress because he was purring soloudly. At least he went happy. Its a good thing they have nine lives.
Love,Your Dad

(I miss my dad.)

I did not write this

Wandering through Tattered Cover, this was the first thing that spoke to me. It is ironically poignant for me right now.

The Joke is on the Sun
as the game continues you
should seek to say ever more clearly
what you truly
believe
even if what you truly believe is wrong.

it can be a hazardous
and difficult
task.

but
if you can't laugh
at the impossible odds we all endure as
we seek to understand and know

then you will
surely sleep
restless
in the
coffin

-- Charles Bukowski

not science

Forget the study you lost yourself to.
Wait until the moment of truth when the burn starts to fry and you must act out your nature.
Howl at the moon for it guides you, makes you crazy and strong, the tides of your own flesh pulled at its light; you should howl as loud as you can.
For even a whisper at the time of passing is like eternity.
You should know this and forget this…
the brain could use the rest, spending so much time piecing together the jigsaws of a thousand different puzzles that don’t match.
Stop. The air is cool on my face. I feel a laugh deep down in my soul.

-Summer Richards, 12/02/07