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Cast of Characters

Mid-January, Rain - January 13, 2012
Almost Midwinter - December 14, 2011
Saturday, Noonish, Sunny - November 05, 2011
October, White - October 31, 2011
October, 2011 - October 04, 2011


August 05, 2004

9:16 a.m.

Mice and Miracles

Wednesday, August 4th

I'm not the same tourist my sister is. She has endless energy and unstoppable curiosity. I can only sightsee for so long. Still, we saw some very enjoyable things, the highlight of which was the natural history museum, where one of Mike's clients took many of the conference group for a dinner last night. We didn't get to see all the exhibits, like Forbidden China or the great gem collection. Not everything was open, as this was a special evening event. But there was a great section on Tibet -- and I cried to think our present Dalai Lama might be the last, since the monks can't go back to Tibet to find the next one -- and I saw jewelry from hundreds of years B.C. and, of course, Sue the T-Rex. There was also a huge glass case of shoes from many countries and time periods. I'm still cringing over the Japanese boots for bound feet. (What gives men the abominable idea that they should cripple women?)

There's so much more that I don't feel like writing about now -- I didn't bring my Palm so I'm doing this longhand -- the paddle boats, the art galleries, the endless food. The cruise on Lake Michigan. I spent only a little money, as Rose and Mike treated me to the whole vacation. I bought a simple dress, two pairs of earrings and a ring. Oh, and a little table lamp made of wood and handmade paper. These things soothed me. I also worked out the whole Will scenario a little better by talking to Rose about it as we walked the endless Chicago streets. It's so clear that he's a bonehead who has done nothing to deserve my friendship. I just kept hoping he would, and sometimes he gave me the impression that we could get closer. But, clearly, when he's out of my sight I'm out of his mind. And lest I remain out of my mind, it's time to write this puppy off. A phone call is coming.

I haven't slept terribly well for the most part. I'm getting what I think are honest hot flashes in the night now, not just sweats. Get up to pee -- it's freezing in the room because the A/C has two settings: freezing, and off. I go back to bed shivering and cover up with a sheet. One minute later I'm roasting! Throw covers off and consider whether A/C has a colder setting. Yikes.

I did have some dreams; one night I dreamt that Joliette, my old landlady, called me up and said the Willimantic apartment had come available. I was so bummed when I woke up and realized it wasn't real. Another night I dreamt that one of my parody songs was being covered by a choir, and they expanded it to parody all sorts of pop songs, and it had a plot and dialogue and everything. It was so spectacular I was just crying the whole time. The possibilities were amazing. I woke up before they'd finished, and couldn't remember any of it.

Anyway, to counterbalance all the above morosity, we all pulled the Great Chicago Mouse Caper. I may have mentioned that Dar and I have this thing about rodents -- we live in a mouse world, really. He was quite jealous that we were in Chicago without him. Unbeknownst to him I brought my little stuffed mouse, Michelangelo, and have been taking pictures of him all over the city -- at the zoo, on the cruise, and the museums. These will be mailed to Dar in the form of chapters, one a week or so, until the whole story is revealed. It involves his meeting a little city mouse named Lucky Louis (whom we liberated from a hotel gift shop), and getting into some pretty close scrapes. They are arrested at the zoo by a couple of rhino cops, named Moe and Les, for going into an unauthorized area, and they have to make a grand escape from jail by rapelling off a rock wall (we actually have pictorial evidence of this) and fleeing the zoo. They think they're free, and continue seeing Chicago's sights, but every so often one of the rhino cops can be seen peering out from behind a tree in the background.

The idea is that the cops will actually tail them back to CT, where there will be a showdown at Rose's house involving the mice actually saving Moe and Les from Rose's cat. After that they all make friends and go out for donuts. The End.

It's been fun hauling a large pocketbook full of stuffed animals around the city, and taking unauthorized photos in museums. We've also gotten a few people to pose with Michelangelo so that, in a post script, we can make a little collage of all the friends he's made.

Everyone (me, Rose, Mike and their friend Arlene) contributed ideas and photo setups. Mike was particularly responsible for some of the action shots. Anyway, this should assuage Dar's nagging jealousy over not being able to come along.

It's nearing time for the airport shuttle so I'll close for now.

********

Thursday, August 5th

You won't believe what happened. I checked home for messages before going back to the room, and there were two urgent ones from Joliette. To her astonishment, the third floor tenant has decided she's moving in with her boyfriend, and has given 30 days' notice. I'd just called a couple of weeks ago to let her know I was looking and put something out in the universe. I hadn't talked to her in years. She wanted to know if I was psychic.

Did I want the apartment? Are you kidding, I said! Of course I want the apartment!

My apartment!

That I lived in for five years.

In which I survived the hardest part of my life.

My big, sunny, slant-walled, pine-floored, gas-heated apartment that I moved out of in 1998.

Joliette said, "I can tell you now, I never really liked Barbara anyway. I wouldn't have done anything, but I'm so glad she's leaving and you're moving back in!"

She was freaked out about the dream I had about her this week. We decided that the cosmos had hit us all over the head and it was meant to be.

I don't doubt that Mom had a hand in this.


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