Before I left the house for my lunch date in town, I texted my granddaughter and her husband a Happy Anniversary message: their second.
Downtown parking was hard to find, but we both managed to find a spare space and zipped into it after several passes around the block 😉
‘Remember/Christmas’ song: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TisqJTlSQgs)
We enjoyed a nice, relaxed 2-hour lunch, in which several topics were touched on … but mostly we talked about our lives in the moment. My friend wants to retire – but it doesn’t look like that will happen any time soon. Children were discussed, and Grandchildren were bragged about, and ooohed and awwwed over; and when I was asked if Alyna stays in touch with me (my friend remembers Alyna from 4 years to graduation time: my friend only knows about my grandson in conversation) … I said, “not much: we text on occasion, but that’s about it. And I don’t know anything about Azariah, at all – nothing is shared when I ask. I miss them – but, they have to miss me too. And want to spend time with me: right now, that is not happening. Bob's death changed everything.”
This is confusing to my friend because my friend knew how close Alyna and I were: and knows how excited I was about Azariah coming into our lives so unexpectantly. My friend knows, that next to Bob, my grandkids are the stars in my life.
It is confusing to me also; but this is how my life has turned out. I don’t like that – but, I’ve made peace with what is.
So, our thoughts and convo gravitated towards more in the moment topics: my summer daytrip adventures, my planned 2022 road trips out-of-State, covid madness, and the recent tornado that struck the USA. These are ‘safe topics’ that don’t squelch the Holiday Spirit.
As soon as Chinook Pass opens up for safe travel … I’ll be locking the house and heading into the great wide open 😉
My friend said, “that will probably be around the time rattlesnakes are out of hibernation and active – and some don’t have rattles.” I figured the time right, but ...
Rattlesnakes without a tail rattle? That, was news to me!
I knew that rattlesnakes go underground, and slip into a hibernating type of Winter mode: and I know that they slither back above ground in the Spring when the weather warms up … and are a serious concern in the Summer months; and I always assumed their tails were rattle activated.
I’m still interested in gravitating towards ‘The Center Of The Universe’; it intrigues me. I hope I do not bring a hitch-hiking creepy crawler back home with me.
Rattle-less Rattlesnakes: https://rattlesnakesolutions.com/snakeblog/science-and-education/are-rattlesnakes-evolving-to-rattle-less-or-losing-their-rattles/
Rattlesnake
facts: https://www.livescience.com/43683-rattlesnake.html
There is actually a snake that does fly … but it lives in Asia.
Snakes in Your Car: https://altdriver.com/country/snake-got-in-car/
Flying snakes (especially venomous snakes) was not anything I had even considered when thinking about hurricanes and tornadoes. But obviously my friend thinks about it: I’d rather those things had not been said!
I hope I do not have nightmares tonight ☹
When my friend went back to the job site, I left downtown behind and drove home via Olympia Way – and smiled when I caught sight of Nutty Narrows Bridge: Bob always glanced at the little squirrel bridge suspended between trees flanking the street - he was the first to point it out to me, shortly after we were married in 1974; and it has become habit to me too, to glance at it in passing, over the years.
The Nutty Narrows Bridge has the titles of “World’s Narrowest Bridge”, and “World’s Narrowest Animal Crossing”: it is decorated for seasonal holidays 😉
I also noticed a chain link fence surrounding the Campus Towers Sign; with torn up ground … and no tall building. That made me sad because Bob’s grandmother has lived there after she became a widow in the 1981. I could not find any information about demolition concerning the building – but the fence is present, the ground looks like a construction site, and that tall building was not seen.
I came home and got comfy: pj’s on … and Christmas lights lit 😊
And received an incoming text: lunch with my friend is now a scheduled ‘thing’ 😉
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