Off Topic: End of Summer Musings

As summer ends and we gear up for school (and homework) to start, it is easy to get a little wistful over highlights of the past few months.

At the National Zoo in DC a zoo employee (security guard?) played a game with one of the big cats (tiger? lion?). The guard bicycled on the sidewalk from one end of the enclosure to the next while the cat raced him from inside. They went back and forth several times until duty called and the guard rode off. They weren't exactly zooming but both had to put some effort into keeping up the pace. The crowd loved it.

When in Winnsboro, South Carolina buy your pizza and sandwiches at Sammy Jo's.

We listened to a grandmother describe the gymnastics routine she did in junior high. The song she used came on the radio one evening and brought it to mind. I think it was "Dream a Little Dream of Me."

If you are sitting around a pool and one of the kids in the pool is your grandchild, for the time you are there you are everybody's grandfather.

One one outing I could not help noticing two little girls, about the same age, not in the same group, just at the same attraction at the same time. One was wearing a t-shirt that said "bootylicious." The other was wearing a t-shirt that said "A = [image of an apple], B = [image of a banana], e = mc2 [image of an atom]". I know nothing of the native intelligence, perseverance or resourcefulness of either girl. But I think I get a good idea of parental priorities. Or maybe that was what was in the hand-me-down bag. It is far too easy to be judgmental.