The Daily School Bus number 2: in the rain, after the hottest October in recorded history

I am in line at Taco Bell, getting lunch on my way into town to pick up Margie from her week of babysitting duties. According to what I read this morning in the Anchorage daily news, it looks like the October that just ended was the warmest on record. This rain should be snow. It is supposed to snow tonight but still climb into the 40's tomorrow. 

Text added at 5:07 PM. The Squarespace nightmare continues - day 41.

Driving home, Syria on the radio

The radio was on. I was making the 1.5 mile drive back home from Abby's. The news was about Syria, how they are dismantling and destroying their chemical weapons but still finding plenty of other ways to kill each other. It told of neighborhoods in the capital Damascus where not a person walks and every building and house is damaged, bullet riddled, roofs torn off, burned, often destroyed. A new tactic is a food blockade. No items of food are allowed into certain neighborhoods and communities at all. "Surrender or starve!" Civilians are hit hard, often even harder than the rebels the Syrian government seeks to destroy.

"This is my species doing this," I thought. Fundamentally, we are the same whether we live in Syria or the US. I thought of all the anger and hatred boiling in the US right now, and of the politicians, pundits and ideologues who seek to benefit and profit by stirring it up. I'm not saying we're headed toward becoming like Syria, but we are one species, after all.

Text added at 9:41 AM - the Squarespace nightmare continues - day 41 and counting.

The Daily School Bus: just before coffee, at Abby's

The Daily School Bus: I turned off Seldon into Abby's at 8:04 this morning and lo and behold – there before me was my daily school bus, right off the bat. In fact, on the other side of the parking lot past the gas station were two more buses. Tough decision, because I got good photos of all three, but I decided to go with this one. I have sat down inside now and have just placed my order. My ham and eggs should be here shortly. Have already got my coffee. 

Text added at 9:38 PM. The Squarespace nightmare continues - day 41 and counting.

I don't think there will be any more terrifying visitors demanding candy tonight

It's drawing nigh to 11 PM. I don't think any more trick-or-treaters are coming. Just those six – the four I photographed and the two who came for the two minutes when I could not find my phone.

It's very, very, quiet in here – and the lighting is dim. All evening I kept but one light on - the one over the front door. If you could see Jim sitting here for real, you would see that to the eye it looks more dim than this. I remain pretty impressed with the low light capabilities of this iPhone 5s camera. Of course, I had the porch light on so the trick-or-treaters would know they were welcome and there was the glow from the fire in the wood stove. The fire is dying now and I am not going to bother to build it back up tonight. If the weather were normal - cold - then I would. But hell, it's so warm Jim and I might as well be in San Francisco. 

Text added at 11:02 PM. The Squarespace nightmare continues - 40 days and counting.

Late comers dig in – twice

Two more just came along. "Go ahead, dig in!" I invited. "Take a good handful."

So they did. I continued to hold the bowl out. The one with the glowing teeth looked at me in surprise. "Oh cool!" he exclaimed. "We get to take more?"

"Yes," I confirmed. He then put his bag down and dug in with two hands - or maybe it was just one hand and he kept his bag but that one hand somehow grew into such a gigantic scoop that I can only remember it as two hands. Suddenly, I worried they might take a little too much and then an unexpected caravan of pickup trucks might come by hauling a couple of score of extra mischievous trick-or-treaters and I wouldn't have anything to give them and I would suffer the brunt of many tricks.

There's still plenty of candy left, though. 

Text added at 9:29. The Squarespace nightmare continues.