. . . muttered the ogre

My stepbrother Seth Chabay and I have the same birthday, and this year (turning 42 and 21) we celebrated together for the first time.

Here we are looking at the kangaroo of a curious little zoo in Wake Forest, North Carolina. Several animals I’d never seen before: South American rodents that look like little deer, a striking Malaysian tricolor squirrel, and – wandering about – two Dachskätze, mutant housecats with short legs.

Mom’s birthday is this week and I wanted to buy her lunch today. She is the coffee committee at her UU church, so I went to the service to meet her. A woman sitting next to me said, “You should have your picture taken so your mother can see how nice you look”; which I thought an odd thing to say to a 42yo stranger, even a perfect one.

Back at Mom’s house, on seeing the garage door and the inner door both open, my first thought was: “The cats will get out!” (Mom has had no pets for several years now.)