Quiet Night

After a warm day, a cool night, only a few stars glowing faintly through a canopy of cloud, and the scent of dewy grass filling the air. The half moon has long since set. In the stillness, a single frog croaks a few times, then falls silent. A brief rustling in the dried leaves never cleaned from under the hedge at the side of the yard. One bark from a dog in the muffled distance. I can picture the familiar scene which I know lies around me, but, unseen, it might be anywhere, any world which my imagination could conjure. How little it takes to bestir those chemicals in my brain, and fill me with delight! Just lucky, I guess.

Bright Rain

The rain is back, first rain of actual spring. The clouds seem thin, so the day is bright and all the buds on the fruitless mulberry tree outside my window have drops of water hanging from them. Its thick coat of moss has turned thicker from the moisture, too, and is a deep rich green. The oak in my back yard looks as though it is recovering from the recent cold weather, and its young leaves are once again pale green. The oak next door isn't doing so well, though, and its leaves are still brown. No walk today, because my shoe still has a hole in the sole and my sock gets all squishy after a few steps. Rain does not belong inside shoes.

AAARRRGGGGHHH

The left earpiece of my headphones just snapped off. Cheap plastic. Well, not that cheap. $50. Less than a year old. I tried to superglue them back together, but it wouldn't hold. What on earth could they be made of? I looked at them carefully, and found that nowhere on them is there a country of manufacture. I guess no country was willing to claim them. They must have known that they were to be sold at Radio Shack. Yes, I said Radio Shack. I know, but there aren't many places to buy such things in a town this small. Radio Shack headphones used to be made by Koss, and were fairly decent. If Koss is still making them, they need to rethink their design. Now I have to replace them, since I have no speakers and can only listen to music on headphones. Rats!