Back Story: All around Robin Hood's Barn

Random Discontent

Pee Wee is about nine years old. That's pretty damn old for a chicken. We started to notice, just recently, that she is no longer roosting in her accustomed spot at night. She is now sleeping on the floor of the coop. I figure she has arthritis. I guess it won't be long.

This morning when I let the chickens out, she did not come out of her coop right away. I didn't notice until I heard some flopping around in there and found her having difficulty getting up from the corner where she had been sleeping. I reached in and petted her, and gave her a few words of encouragement. I really thought it was the end for the old girl. But a few minutes later, there she was, out of the coop, and making her way slowly around back to where I feed them.

So, I started my day wondering what you do about a chicken with arthritis, one who always came when you called her by name and would sit in your lap and each nacho chips with you while you enjoyed a cold one on a sunny day.

Later, I was doing Community Foundation work at home on my laptop. The dog was making a pain in the ass out of herself, wanting me to play with her stupid laser light. She was just about to drive me out of the house and off to my office downtown, when she suddenly decided to take a nap. Great, I thought, now I don't have to go downtown and get caught up in the Saturday hub-bub. But, whenever I tried to reach the website I use to upload files for trustee access, I got a server look-up error message. Thanks, AT&T, for the new U-verse modem you forced upon me. This is better than the old one, how? So, I had to go to the office to finish my work, anyway.

As I was driving downtown, I noticed there seemed to be more cars than usual, even for a Saturday morning. Oh, crap! It's that Cyclops thing, whatever that is, and it's supposed to be right by my office. Good luck finding parking, I thought.

After driving all around Robin Hood's barn, I finally found something in front of the laundromat that only required me to make a swift u-turn in heavy traffic in the middle of Dayton Street. Nothing would deter me. I parked and made the walk to my building all the way down the other end of the street, carrying my laptop and assorted files that came to about 20 lbs.

Just across the small lot where I am supposed to be guaranteed a parking space as a part of our office rental, in the Bryan Center parking lot, is where the Cyclops thing is going on. I am pleased that I was able to get a spot at all. In the office, I settle in to downloading and uploading a ton of material and finalizing the agenda for our trustee meeting next week, when the sound of drums starts thundering outside my window. I am certain now that this town is conspiring against me getting any serious work done on this day. After an hour, I think I am finished. But, I have a feeling that when I go to access those files, tomorrow, some will be missing, and when I look at the agenda, it's going to look like a shopping list for Philene's Basement.

So it goes...

-vh