Tuesday, Overnight

People You Should Know

There's a cashier at the co-op who has quickly become our favorite. S/he's hard to describe, except that s/he refers to him/her-self as "him" so I will too from here. His name is Lou and he is very quick witted and covered with tattoos, my favorite being his knuckle tats that spell out "LOW BROW." (I love knuckle tattoos, especially unique ones. Maybe they'll be my gift to myself if I make it to 70. Another of my favorite set is on an artist named Heidi Kenney whose knuckle tats read "CAKE FACE.") Anyway, we love Lou because he's witty and hilarious and good at his job.

Who else should you know?

You should know Stuart, one of the teachers at the studio. Stuart was born in the south, raised in Texas, and got out of there as soon as he could. He taught for many years, English I think, and came to teach clay after he and his wife joined the studio. (His wife, Annie, was an incredible artist who died almost two years ago of Kaposi's sarcoma.) Now in his 60s, he is the most well read and meticulous person I've ever met, but still one of the most pleasant. We often chat about Shakespeare and Greek tragedies. The other night he was looking for something in his cubicle at the studio and I heard him exclaim, "Oh, bother and spinach!"

Those are two people you should know.

When Pollen Attacks

I would like to go around and personally issue a knock on the skull of everyone in the city who has a mulberry tree in their yard. After those people have been successfully knocked upon, I would start with juniper tree owners. My nose is so blocked up that I've quadrupled the amount of Benadryl I'm taking and it still feels like someone parked a truck in my sinuses.

Why isn't it acceptable in the US to go around with surgical masks on the way they do in Japan? (Yes, I wore one once, not for allergies but because I had a cold and the receptionist at The Kaisha put it on me before sending me to the doctor with the head teacher.) I remember one student who did suffer from allergies telling me, "I wish I could take my eyeballs out and wash them!" Luckily my allergies don't make my eyes itchy.

The Garden

The little lettuce seeds are sprouting! Soon we'll have more mesclun and arugula and mustard greens than we know what to do with.

I need to take some pictures for their baby book. They grow up so fast!