Coyotes

Coyotes have roamed the neighborhood here for the past 20 years. One would do a howl and growl thing about once a month, not necessarily with the moon, but not often and usually alone. Until this week.

Suddenly, the golf course over the back fence has become coyote central. They are a they now, not a single male, they are often, and they are bold. Just ask the cat, who came in last night looking just a little bit frazzled, and she didn't even leave the yard. I could hear scraping on the back fence, and see groups of yellow eyes.

For some reason, unknown, but for which I'm thankful, the Poms, 100% barking fools, don't bark. Not even a low growl. These guys will bark if I accidently scrape the wall while walking down the hall or if anyone moves too fast in their presence. They do group howls just for the sake of making noise, without any reason whatsoever. But, last night, through an hour of coyote congregation, not nary a note.

Maybe they realize to a coyote they are a happy meal. Or maybe they have heard the coyotes every night all their lives and don't think anything of it. Who knows? They never bark when the furnace comes on, but do when the ice maker drops the ice.

Right now they are in the lay around me while I'm on the computer sleep mode. So, I don't move fast or scrape walls.

Dreaded Day Job

Well, every wannabe author's albatross is the dreaded day job. I'm no exception here, as my day job has set back my writing future almost as much as my lack of brilliance in turning the pen, er key.

My current dreaded day job is better than the past two. I can actually focus enough during off hours to attempt to complete Runners 2, my WIP started in 1991, only 15 years out.

Taking from that great movie classic, "You get what you settle for," I'm not setting well right now. Even if I am old and decrepit, I still have enough gas in the tank for another shot at doing something important, thus I'm trying to climb the corporate ladder again. One would think after six sawed off limbs, I wouldn't go out on another, but...

At my ten-year high school reunion, about mumble mumble years ago, some of my classmates were sitting around reminiscing about their high school career. It was a tough one to hear, as I wanted to know where they were going, not where they'd been.

The good ol' days are just that, probably much better relived than originally lived. But what about the good new days, the ones around the corner?

My mom and step-father-in-law are in their eighties, and are living the good new days in their assisted living center. They don't reminisce about the past (probably can't remember), they plan the future, sometimes two or three hours ahead of time. Despite being oldies, they still have that focus.

So, taking a page from their book, I'm focusing on the future. And starting with the effort to put a little less dread in the dreaded day job. Who knows what I am still capable of screwing up out there.

Not working

My blog has refused to accept pictures for two days now. Maybe it took the weekend off.

I'm home again.

Things one can do whilst visiting offspring who live far away in their new home.

1. Buy them stuff. Almost doesn't matter what, they appreciate almost anything.
2. Wash dishes. Especially if they don't have a dishwasher.
3. Seal a deck. Takes more time than brilliance. Vacationing dads have time.
4. Mow the lawn. See above.
5. Fix things. All those starter years of fixing things finally can pay off.
6. Do stuff with them. This is the important part.
7. Do stuff without them. This gives them some space.
8. Buy food. And cook it. Food always tastes good when someone else makes it.
9. Relax. Wow, almost an impossibility when working in todays do or die world. Relaxing was great.
10. Don't be critical. They will live their lives just as they want to when you aren't around. If you raised them correctly, or close enough, the bad habits they pick up won't outweigh the good.
11. Develop new habits. The habit of getting soft ice cream from the best place in town every evening is hard to top.
12. Enjoy being alive. Beats the alternative and can be fun.

I'm in NY

Upstate, where the grapes grow, the cows moo, and the roads are all two-lane and empty. I'm visiting my son Erin, who just bought a house.

I'm trying to get good pictures from my new camera, but it is a challenge. It has an autofocus, which takes some getting used to in that it wants to think about every picture and decide what is important to focus on. I get great pictures of two little bitty people in a background of fuzz, when I didn't care about the people. But, I interrupted it before it had completely made it's decision. Shooting from a moving car, some things are perfect, others are a complete blur. I'm learning to be patient. However, the plus side is the resolution is incredible. I can blow the pics up to 20x20 and the detail is perfect. At about 2.5 MP a shot, My 1 GB flash card is good for 400 pics.

I'm at Hobart and William Smith Colleges writing this. It is a very beautiful school in Geneva. Erin is a chemistry professor here. I'll post some pics when I get home.