A Strange Occurance

We have a porch at the side of our house where we like to read, eat a meal and sometimes take a nap. In the winter I usually put together a good sized cage which we call the Winter Palace. I put the chickens there where it is easier to feed them, collect the eggs and take in their antics. I was late putting it together this year, just getting the walls up late on the 23rd. Sometime that night a group of little people set up house keeping right there on our porch. I couldn’t believe it. Not only were they short, they were oddly dressed, some kind of like royalty and others like peasants or shepherds or something. Anyway they claimed there were no rooms available in all of Seattle, if you can believe that. They didn’t seem to offer much trouble so I let ‘em stay. They tied their ass out in the backyard which was fine with me cuz I didn’t want a bunch of donkey dung to clean up along with the chicken manure. And then the next night in the wee hours of the morning my wife and I were woken up by some neighbors singing religious songs; on and on and on with the alleluias at the top of their lungs. They must have been pretty drunk to be making that much noise at that hour, but I will say they sounded pretty good and whoever their lead soprano was, she has a voice that is out of this world. But that’s not all. In the morning we found out that a woman among the little people had actually had a baby in the night- no OB, no drugs. no nothing for her. Right there on our side porch. You can imagine our amazement. Well I must say the baby is a calm little fellow. Doesn’t seem to mind the chickens throwing straw in his face or even kicking him right out of his bed from time to time. I don’t know how long they intend to stay, but I guess not too long. One of the men, a guy named Joe, said they’ll be leaving soon. Going to Egypt. Go figure.

Year End Letter 2011

2011 might be the year I lost my memory. I have been trying for about a week to recall something of what transpired without much success. On the other hand maybe nothing actually happened.


In letters of condolence to friends who have lost a parent, I have sometimes suggested that the deceased person lives on in his or her progeny. I guess one’s DNA does so literally. I realize now that for some of us the “living on in one’s children” can commence even before reaching one’s own end. Thus it is with us now. Much of our lives and therefore our news is that of Nat and Meredith.

Mere bore a son in March. As a second born, Marcus Patrick Reinhart, has the advantage of an older brother to lead him through the early stages of life and to absorb, to some degree, the attention of surrounding adults thus leaving Marcus to develop on his own. He’s doing nicely. In the same week he was born his parents bought a house in their new hometown of Charlottesville VA where they moved in late spring due to Paulie’s work. Except for oppressively humid summers and 3,000 miles of separation from Seattle, Charlottesville seems like a great place to live. Their other important news is about next year. This year they learned that in January Paulie will deploy to Afghanistan as a civilian employee of the Defense Department. Naturally we are somewhat worried for his safety, but the real regret is his absence, especially from their 2½ year old. He’s a great dad and Theo will surely miss him. They have all come here for the holidays. Mere and the boys will stay on until July. They were also here in this past summer and we were back in VA three times. To their grandparents the boys are really dear little fellows.
We see Nat, Tracy and Phoenix on a regular basis. Their lives are absorbed in dealing with Phoenix’s autism. They do a great job. We are on the periphery lending a hand as much as possible. As with all kids his long term future is unknown, but his diagnosis is real and for Beth and me at least it is still difficult to accept. He is almost always pleasant and fun to be with and he is very easy to love.

We are basically well, though some components are showing wear. Beth continues her weekly walks to town, several miles over a serious hill and she is quite good at solving Sudoku puzzles. I continue my activities of the recent past, but even slower. A treat for me this year was to go with our neighbor, Simone, to an open audition for the TV show, The Amazing Race. We thought we did great, but since we have not had a call back I guess you will not be seeing us on the air. I also had the last great afternoon of my life when a young woman who was doing an oral history of the Arboretum came and listened to me talk for 3 hours and 17 minutes. She even feigned enough interest to ask some questions - and she was good looking. I like to think about it and when I do I try to forget the fact that she was getting paid.

Following are titles of my blog posts this year, along with an indication of the content. If I had any interesting thought or idea you would probably find it here.

Cultural Voyeurism (The Super Bowl)
A Pretty Good Rat Trap
Rat In A Trap (A picture)
Why My Wife Is Pissed Off At You Guys (A puzzler submitted to the Tappit Bros.)
Here’s An Idea (International policy)
Here’s An Idea (Continued)
33 Flavors, Ha!
The Story of Crumpled Anna (Fiction)
The Application (Somebody else’s)
The Debt Crisis
Here’s Looking At You Babe (Curious stuff)
Is Democracy Viable These Days
The Rest of the Story (A rental story)
All Water Is Not The Same (Everyday life)
To Forget or Not To Forget, Is That The Question? (911)
Advice (Financial)
To Text: An Unhappy Consequence (A cranky rant)