A Guest at the Table


miel es dulce
 pero un arce no es una abeja

Ruler of the back garden.

 A walk down the boulevard suddenly became lunch at this sweet, nay romantic place called La Casa del Desayuno. The plan was to take a walking break and have coffee, but Hugo felt it would be more polite to order food. This is how we met this scavenger, beggar in the garden- who I named Pseudo Miel because the server gave me maple syrup instead of honey and afterward I learned that you have to be specific which one you want; as miel is short for both kinds of viscus sweeteners.
I was actually finding myself almost falling for the little scrapper. It was bold went it had to be and desirous of a friendly hand instead of being kicked away all the time. Our server invited us to take the cat, but it belonged to the neighbor and I don’t think the dogs at the house would take kindly to a new creature around- especially one that isn’t a dog.
I will visit La Casa again and maybe see this little guy begging… throw an egg bit or two down…

Ick. Don’t climb on me. I don’t know where you have been. -tm

Still wanting mas huevos.

The romantic chaos of a garden!

Cactus in a Can

The happiest set of cacti you will ever see- tm
One of the first things to unpack when I was off the plane were my hearty, armata travel companions. I let them breathe a bit in San Diego and once I was in Rosarito gave them pots of their own and nice black dirt to squirm their root into. They weren’t the clay pots I hoped for, but I don’t think they mind in the least. They are happy for the sunshine, good soil and safety.
I take my care of these hispid guys kinda seriously- as I did make the choice to take them out of their natural environment in Arizona and cart them ‘all over the place’ with me. They were the best souvenir of the Grand Canyon I could think of keeping.  
If you don’t know plants whatsoever, I suggest getting a cactus. They don’t need much and can put up with a lot of crap- -like being wrapped up in dirt and plastic, shoved into suitcases which go through the airport luggage grinders and get put in cargo holds of planes that fly 37 thousand feet in the air. 
The way of the Cactus- a truly American plant:
All you have to do is just stand there and be a real prick. 

With some watering and a little attention every once in a while, a cactus can thrive just about anywhere. They are easier and cheaper on all counts to care for than a cat or even lizard. And, I still feel that you can learn quit a bit from them if you are or become sensitive enough. 

A Miracle of the Season- NYC is clearly not THAT big.

Club Obi Wan Poster
This evening Hugo and I got on the Brooklyn bound 3 train with Anakin Skywalker, Queen Amidala and certain Prof. Jones who was probably coming from some faculty meeting at Columbia University. While Skywalker and Jones chatted quietly, We noticed  a group of other younger folks in the car who were ‘somebodies,’  but in my ignorance I could not name them.
Suddenly, a young Asian man wearing a Yankees cap sprang up from them shouting,
“Dr. Jones! Dr. Jones!”
He ran over and embraced the stunned man in the fedora.
It was none other than Short Round himself! The two of them laughed in their surprise  at seeing one another and asked their companions to take pictures of them together on the train.

This is a strong kind of magic. It cannot stop hurricanes or lousy presidential elections, but it made two strangers from very different parts of the world embrace in public. Sometimes that is enough.