Odds and Ends on My Mind

My neighbor who caused me to remove my bird feeders received a fright from me yesterday evening... It was just after 6 and NBC was wrapping up their coverage of the Masters, when a smoke alarm started going off in a nearby apartment. (The last time one went off in the middle of the night, I called the fire department and ended up being laughed at by the apartment manager...) I had turned off the TV volume to try to locate the source of the sound, when I heard the next-door neighbor's patio door open. My curtains were drawn, but I had about a 2-inch viewing crack of my patio. The neighbor walked out and appeared at the wall between our places, where she took several swallows of iced tea; after looking around , she suddenly took 6 giant steps and pressed her nose up against my window screen, and I could hear her sniffing. I suddenly said, "We're not on fire." She dropped her glass of tea, which shattered on my patio. "And I hope that you will be good enough to clean up your mess on my patio, " I said. She disappeared like a startled rabbit - and at 8 p.m. I finally went out and cleaned up the broken glass she had left behind. Nosy neighbors! Grrrrrrr!!

I have enjoyed luxuriating in the kits love and company these past 36 hours - they have been super companions. ... The Bloodhorse has an excellent write-up on Forego on their site (see: http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2009/06/21/the-mighty-forego.aspx ) - and I love reading about him because he was our stallion's Uncle down at Sleepy Hollow in Micanopy. ... Sailor's Cap necropsy has come in: probable cardiac arrest from colitis-X, which can be caused by a number of things, including salmonella and plain old stress. ... And, for the first time since 1919, Colorado has a documented wolverine living in-state. It's a young male, who has ambled down to the western slope from Yellowstone... he's one of a group of 15 radio-collared wolverines in a study there. In his travels he has successfully crossed several interstate highways. I'd love to be able to get a glimpse of him!

And finally, the United States of America is trying to get a lawsuit against them dropped. The case has been brought by 20 descendants of Geronimo, the famous Apache chief. He died in 1909 and was buried in Fort Sill, Oklahoma; family members wish to re-bury him in Arizona. According to lore and legend, and now supported by a letter written in 1918, a member (or members) of Yale University's Skull and Bones Society took parts of Geronimo's skeleton from the grave and they are reported to be in the Society's headquarters in Connecticut. The Skull and Bones Society was established in 1832 as an anti-Masonic group and usually initiates 15 freshmen from Yale each year - these people being the rich and powerful creme de la creme of society. Members have included President Taft, President George H. W. Bush, President George W. Bush, and Senator John Kerry... New initiates have to kiss a skull, reputed to be Geronimo's... Personally, I hope the Apache are able to proceed with the trial, and that they win it. Geronimo's bones - all of them - should be re-interred together in a final, peaceful resting place.