Sense of Adventure

Or maybe, not so holy.

Just went out, daring the early rush hour traffic, to do a little grocery shopping. Coming out of the store I saw a headline on the local paper about an “animal” attacking a local boy in the Sandias. The unspecified “animal” reference intrigued me; looking a little closer (which sadly entails my reading glasses - they’re a reason I wear ‘em constantly on a lanyard around my neck when out and about in the world) I saw that while the parents claimed it had been a big cat, “authorities” discounted the possibility it was a cougar.

Whoa! A mystery cat sighting of Burque’s own? Not to mention an actual attack?

Here’s MSNBC on the subject; for a local report, go here.

Yes, you can just about be sure that if NM catches national ink - and especially international - it involves something discreditable.

NM Game and Fish has narrowed their scope to a bobcat, a cougar, or a small bear. Yet it claims the injuries match none of them. Indeed.

It’s most likely a bobcat, although I know of no previous bobcat attacks on humans. But we never know. And of course the official explanation may or may not bear any resemblance to the truth…

Just another day in NM. That’s why I love it here. Well, not kids getting eaten; that’s a Bad Thing - although the child appears to’ve pulled through. What I love is that something goofy or weird is always going on.

In other news: I’m hoping to get the swamp cooler - evaporative air conditioning: it’s a desert thing - going before the pets and I melt. The problem: I’m terrified to go on my roof.

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I’m fortunate enough to have some really wonderful friends. Some even go so far as to extend their friendship to Emma Dog. Unless it’s the other way around.

When the group goes out together to restaurants Emma’s Aunt Kathy (Kelly-Kubica) and Aunt Roslee (Orndorff) are especially thoughtful in donating meat scraps for me to take to Emma. Which is very sweet of them, and much appreciated by Emma. And me.

So tonight - technically yesterday evening, now - as threatened I attended the monthly ASFS meeting to hear Ian Tregillis read from Bitter Seeds, the WWII “secret history” novel he just delivered to Tor. As I was going in I was hailed by Kathy. She’d been out to dinner before the meeting, and had actually got a doggie box to bring scraps for Emma. It was just incredibly nice of her. She even brought a baked potato for my compost heap, which is going above and beyond.

It was a great reading, very well received. The book’s going to be killer.

After the meeting several of us (Roslee, who’s a nurse, had to work and didn’t make it out tonight) went by Craig’s house while he prepared some packets for art-show participants. Then we headed over to the Applebee’s on Menaul. There Kathy got another steak (she’s on a reduced-carb diet), and darned if she didn’t send another box o’ scraps home to Emma. So she’s set up for the next few days. A happy dog indeed.

As we headed out to the cars Kathy suggested I check the box she had given me. “Emma won’t much like it if you bring home a box full of broccoli,” she said. “She’ll look at you, like, ‘Why don’t you love me?’ ” And she pulled an appropriately mournful face.

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