It was a good week for movies here. I mostly watched horror movies—many that I’ve seen before, but a few new ones. I really enjoyed Pearl, which was the prequel to X. I always find it delightful when I enjoy a prequel more than the original movie.
Then, in the theater, we went to see You Can See Everything. Nathan Fielder’s “documentary” style is fascinating to me. He makes me question everything, but I always enjoy the experience.
Speaking of questioning things—I had a couple of questionable moments behind the wheel this week. I made a right turn at a red light. Before rolling, I watched as the signal changed, allowing a left turn. Knowing I had plenty of time, I made my turn, accelerating from a complete stop to normal speed without haste. That’s when a horn went off and a driver whipped around me, giving me the finger. Based on his speed, I assume that he must have run the signal. How else would I have been in his way?
There was no accident, no collision at all, so nobody was hurt. Still, it left me wondering why I didn’t see him racing toward the signal. I checked, made my assessment, and then turned. Where was he?
Another day, I was headed to the feed store when a truck in front of me slowed to a crawl in order to squeeze into a tight diagonal space. The truck was never going to fit, but they were taking their own sweet time giving it a try. I glanced at the mirror and then swerved maybe a tire-width into the next lane in order to slip by. There was a car already there, passing me. It wasn’t enough to make the truck’s collision sensor go off, so the car wasn’t that close. They didn’t honk or even seem to notice my intrusion. I hate the idea that my tire was touching the lane line and I didn’t know that there was another vehicle already in that lane. It was disturbing.
Obviously, I’m very grateful to have a clean driving record. I’ve hit deer before, which is horrible and heartbreaking, but I’ve never hit anything else. The insurance company called a deer strike an “act of God.” Maybe it’s not true anymore, but the last time I hit a deer (some 30 years ago), there was no penalty to my insurance premiums and the claim was covered in full. It was considered a true accident, without fault. Makes me wonder why they would blame God, though. What did God have against that deer, and why was I the chosen instrument of the animal’s demise? If it were a reindeer, I might understand. Those filthy creatures are always making fun of their brethren who happen to have red noses.
Speaking of red noses, we had no clowns, no ghosts, no goblins or witches visit last night. It was another Halloween without anyone showing up at the door, demanding candy. I have a couple of neighbors with kids. With so much space between the houses here, it’s not surprising that they don’t try to walk from house to house. They would burn more calories on the trip than they would make up with candy. It’s a good thing that nobody knocked. The best I could offer is some baking chocolate that my sister left here. Maybe I could give out cough drops?
Albert (dog) went as a wolf for Halloween. My neighbor stopped by in the afternoon to give me some spare horse brushes. I sent Albert out ahead to bark at him. Albert puffed himself up and laid his ears back before bark-bark-barking at Nate. Albert likes Nate a lot, but he also likes trying to frighten people. The big, puffy fur and fake aggression were the only costume that Albert needed.
With spooky season at a close, I guess it’s time to set my sights on Thanksgiving. I have a couple of weeks to make the house ready for a couple dozen guests. I won’t do all that much. The dust and cobwebs are pretty much load-bearing at this point. A really deep cleaning might upset some delicate balance that I’ve achieved here. I’ll put things away and make room for the long tables.
It feels like this year is rushing to be over. It’s a shame—I’ve had some really nice moments this year. Last night I had a dream where I went to my appointment but forgot important paperwork I would need. When I woke, I realized that the appointment hasn’t happened yet. I still have time to make that mistake, or maybe even correct it. It’s the same with driving. I might have made some poor choices recently, but metal didn’t touch metal and nobody was hurt. I’ll try to be more careful going forward and count the blessings of the mistakes that haven’t yet been made.
