Rat Bastard, Books, and Birthday Cake

I know you are all dying to hear the update on the Rat Bastard and the mysterious birthday gift. I actually went to dinner with him last Monday. We talked, we laughed, we kissed (a little) and he gave me a beautiful, stunning, absolutely gorgeous, framed photograph he had taken of an Aspen grove in the Alpine Loop.

The thing about the Rat Bastard, he and I spent 3 years together...on and off, together, more accurately...and when it was good, it was really, really good. When it was bad, it was, unfortunately, really, really bad, but being with him is still comfortable. We can still talk about almost anything, and we still know a lot of the same people, but he and I...yeah, it’ll never work out. So, all in all I felt pretty okay about the meeting. It’s fun to get together, but the intensity of our (or at least my) feelings have drained away. And the photo is seriously amazing.

I finished Getting Away with Murder: The True Story of the Emmett Till Case by Chris Crowe over the weekend. As you may remember, I read Crowe’s Mississippi Trial, 1955 which also revolves around the Emmett Till murder. This is the actual historical account, complete with pictures of the murderers, Emmett Till (including a grisly open casket photo published in Jet magazine), and other places and participants in the trial. The murder of this 14-year old child and the acquittal of his murderers was hailed as “the last straw” of inequality leading up to the Civil Rights Movement. Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat about a month later. This book was horrifying, painful and sickening. It was a shameful time in American history that should be acknowledged.

As I often do when reading something like this, I thought, “What would I have done? If I had been raised in the South during this time, would I think I was better than them? Would I have participated in the oppression? Would I have been a proponent of Civil Rights and desegregation? Or would I have steadfastly resisted the attack on the southern way of life?” I don’t know. I’d like to think I wouldn’t have participated in such horrors. I’d like to think that I wouldn’t have sat passively by while racism allowed the killing of children, but damn, I just don’t know.

Elsewhere, this weekend, I got my oil changed and my tires rebalanced. The imbalance was causing my car to vibrate violently when I drove over 60mph and while some might think this was enjoyable...it was really, really annoying after the first day or so. They also told me that in the next 5000 miles I’ll need to replace my 2 rear tires. It never ends, does it?

We also found out that a dear neighbor of my parents (he and his wife moved to Arizona about a month ago) passed away Saturday morning. While he hadn’t been in great health for a while, his death was unexpected. My condolences to his family.

My cousin is expecting the end of September. Congratulations, Becky and Ken.

And finally, my niece, Kenna-bug, celebrated her 3rd birthday. She had a Princess cake with ribbons and balloons and chocolate-caramel ice cream. Her mother also crocheted a beautiful blanket for her. I pointed out that my birthday is in November, so she better start working on mine! Kenna had a pretty serious run-in with a hot stove a couple of weeks ago. Second degree burns all over her hand, so it is all bandaged up and she claims it still hurts, but is getting better. She told me that she had to go to the hospital, but the doctors were nice...they gave her OINT-ment.


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