Saturday morning

We saw the fox this morning twice, or possibly, 2 foxes. The second time we were far enough away that I couldn't say for sure whether it was the same fox we had seen earlier. He/she is rusty red with darker brown or black tips to some of his/her fur, and a white tip to his/her tail. The first time we saw him/her, he was crossing the road that winds around the eastern loop and dashing into the brush. I think he/she saw Jessie and me before we saw him/her. But we were fairly close. The second time was later, toward the end of our walk around that loop, after sitting in the rock garden a bit, and he/she was running next to the line of trees that edges the meadow in the middle of the eastern loop, back toward where he/she had disappeared in the brush earlier. That's why I think it might be another fox - perhaps the mate of the first fox we saw. Anyway, beautiful. The second time/fox we saw for some seconds as it ran down the edge of the meadow. Its stride is liquid, as if it is floating an inch or two above the ground rather than actually bounding forward, up and down on it. It's seems a bigger creature than I expected, but light, delicate. I expect it's the long, long tail that makes it seem "big".

A good morning walk, especially considering I'm engaged in a battle with what I hope is a cold (and not a flu) virus, urging my immune system to get up, get out and get going and do its job, crushing that virus and kicking it out. Meanwhile, cold medicine and orange juice and the couch.

These days mostly I post here for my own purposes, because I find that putting my meandering thoughts and feelings down here in black and white - about my journey past (god willing) cancer and life generally - is good for me, but for those who may still be checking in here from time to time, I want to share something my friend J reminded me of:

Sunday, August 1, is the eighth anniversary of the infamous memo by Bush “Justice” Department officials John Yoo and Jay Bybee condoning torture. J says he will be out in front of the Federal Building on Los Angeles Street in downtown L.A. with his “Torture is Un-American” sign. He suggests if people want to do something and don’t feel like fasting, we might want to call our Congressional representative and senators and say we want to see high government officials prosecuted for their role in approving torture. I agree with J that even if we can’t do anything, it's important to remember this noxious anniversary. At a time when our "Democratic" president appears to be expanding the right of government to wiretap and otherwise monitor private citizens' communications, this anniversary is relevant for all of us.

End of my rant.

Peace (if only).