Flames; Lunch and Opera; Used Books; Din Din and Virtual Presence

Although the tummy virus appears to be in decline, my allergies are acting up. No doubt because it is very dry and windy. The second I walk outside the scent of dry vegetation hits me.

In fact, I think I read something that said that this was one of the dryest seasons on record. Burn warnings have been issued for most of the state. There is fear that a spark could set off a forest fire.

When I was a kid, I remember being at my grandmother's and seeing such a fire. Even though it was several miles away, you could catch glimpses of the flames through the pines. I also recall we made a trip to her sister's down a gravel road that was ten or so feet lower than the surrounding terrain. At one point, there was a very narrow corridor of flames on either side of the road. As we approached the fire suddenly leaped across the road from one side to the other like some giant snarling flaming beast.

Since I had a corner seat against the wall at the sushi bar, I wasn't as distracted if I'd been elsewhere. I read most of an article in "The New Yorker" about the Sidney Opera House and its architect Jorn Utzon. Although he was removed from the project before completion, he has been asked to work on the redesign.

Seemingly the project was afflicted with the customary wrangling and perfidy of many such efforts. Utzon won the Opera House competition in 1957 and was forced out in 1966. "Costs soared as Hall (Peter Hall, Utzon's replacement) struggled to find solutions for the interiors." When the Opera House finally opened in 1973 it was considerably different from the original design. [Hall] died, alcoholic and beset by debts, in 1995.

No pun intended, but the saga sounds like it would make a great opera.

My first thought was to pick up some of the early Sue Grafton books, but none of the cover blurbs I read had appeal. I toyed with P. D. James, but nothing caught my fancy. I then thought of Dorothy Sayers, but none were in stock. "The Cat Who ..." series? Hmmmm! I still have several I have yet to read. Tony Hillerman? Nope, I have all of his. Nevada Barr? Pass.

After 30 minutes or so of this, I finally decided on "Untitled" by Julie Kaewert and "Blue Twilight" by Jessica Speart. Even if these prove not to my liking, I can trade them next time.

One thing I noticed in the restaurant was the number of patrons whose virtual presence was elsewhere. Folks on their cell phones. People watching tv. Kids with their handheld games.

I pray that sooner or later that the FCC will approve devices available in other parts of the world that prevent cell phone activity within a certain area. First off, being forced to listen to someone else's phone conversation is cruel and unusual punishment. Second, I have yet to hear a cell phone conversation that was more than "Hi, I'm at the ..." or "Oh, girl ..."

Some weeks ago, I saw someone in Books a Million walking around holding out her cell phone, so you could hear both sides of the conversations. I wanted to throw an unabridged dictionary at her.

PAX!