The Ugly Hat

At Panera's I stood behind an older woman (about my age) who was placing her order. She wore a knit animal-head ski hat. Colored turquoise and fuchsia, it had protruding baby-bear ears with large chartreuse and black eyes over her forehead. At her ears it morphed into two long scarfs which knotted under her chin and ended in fringes below her waist… "Why would anyone wear such a silly and ugly hat?"

Later, I ran into her at the coffee refill place and inquired, "Hey, that's some hat."

"Thanks. I bought it for the special needs kid I care for. He doesn't like it on his head, but loves it on me. That's why I wear it."

Rocky Mountain High

For friends interested in visiting Colorado for a "Rocky Mountain High," the conflicts between local, Colorado and Federal laws are slowly being resolved.
---You won't be able to buy pot in Colorado Springs or El Paso County--except for two approved stores in Manitou Springs.
--- If you fly out of Colorado Springs, you can't bring pot into the airport. If you happen to forget this law when you enter the airport, your options are: 1) take it back to your car, 2) deposit it in an "Amnesty Box," or 3) carry it through security and past snarling, TSA-trained, dope-sniffing dogs--to be arrested on Federal drug-smuggling charges.
---Finally, if you plan to stay with us, we continue to run a no-smoking facility.

Customer Service

I had called up to cancel my subscription, and the clerk said with scripted cadence: "And how are you doing on this fine Wednesday morning sir?"

"Fine." 

"That's great sir. We always enjoy talking to happy clients on a fine Wednesday morning."

Mysterious Footprints

When I walked in this morning, there were white footprints the length of the restaurant's green carpet into the main room. What kind of person would leave such a mess?

An hour later as I left the restaurant, I passed the new sports bar they are constructing next door, just as a sheet rocker walked out to his truck.

Friendly Help

At Panera's, two third grade boys sat next to me in an overstuffed chair. The grandparents of one of the boys had brought him and his best friend. They shared with me the best of third grader jokes. Then I told them that my grandson would be six next week and asked what they thought were the best toys.

They said they liked playing the computer game Minecraft. The grandmother suggested they recommend a "real toy" that one could touch. They suggested a few toys--including a Hula Hoop. Eventually they all left the restaurant.

Several minutes later, the boys came back in the restaurant to tell me they had forgotten to tell me about Lego toy kits.

Slide Show

Tonight we were shown a couple of thousand pictures of a trip to Peru and the Galapagos Islands--including at least fifty takes of Blue Footed Boobies and fifty of Frigate Birds. It was a long trip; nice to be home.

Father/Daughter

This morning the sight of a father sitting with his daughter of seven or eight for a breakfast of tea and toasted bagels and cream cheese at a table for two by the restaurant window triggered nostalgia of similar early morning talks long ago with my young daughters--and now young granddaughters.

As I left I overheard him say, "I could hire a consultant who could give you some fashion tips."