As I crested a slight hill on 28th Street, I saw a man in a cherry-picker-type contraption. Initially, I thought he was perched up there to work on the wires. Then I drove closer.

It was an elderly gentleman, standing with a simple American flag grasped in his hand. He had the flag thrust toward the street, proudly. He didn't move. He stood motionless except for the fluttering of the flag. And I started crying again.
5:00 PM

Last night was "Toss the Magazines" night. You might wonder why I don't just toss them after I read them. Well, there's a darn good reason for that.

You see, I have my own method of thumbing through magazines. As I'm going along, I often spot things and say to myself, "That's interesting. I never knew Vitamin C was good for that." Or, "Mom might like that cookie recipe." Or the ever-popular, "I love that sweater." And with each utterance, I turn down a page corner. When I'm done, I'm sure that each issue is brimming with stuff way too valuable to throw away. So I put them all in a wicker basket in the basement until it's time to go through them. And last night, when I eyed the sadly sagging basket, I knew it was time.

The problem is, I subscribe to too many magazines. Let's see...Shape, Health, Cooking Light, Better Homes & Gardens, Real Simple and, um, People. Plus any miscellaneous titles that I'm drawn to at the grocery store (it's an addiction, I think). So I rifle through each issue — this time all the way back to December of last year! — to figure out why I dog-eared the page in the first place. I decide whether I was hallucinating about the "valuable" info on the page or whether it's a keeper, then I pitch the rest of the magazine.

I now have files full of recipes, gardening ideas, exercises for your abs, thighs, butt and other areas, vacation getaways, kitchen cabinets that I love, sweaters that I love, etc. I'm ready for anything!
11:42 AM

Just polished off David Sedaris' Me Talk Pretty One Day. Fast read. Funny read. Great read. I picked up his Holidays on Ice one time and ended up putting it back. I'm bad at snatching up way too many books on my way through. Especially when I'm on a tight budget and the library would be a better bet. Now I'll have to rethink that decision. I like people with his world view.
10:21 PM

Nicknames for my cat Maggie:
Mags
Maggie May
Maggie Waggie
Maglio (after Maglio Ordonez of the White Sox)
Moo Moo (she looks a bit like a cow)
Shmoo Moo
Scali-mags (don't ask)

Nicknames for my cat Lucy:
Lucy Goosey
Lucious (pronounced Loo-shus)
Lucifer (for very good reason)
Lulu
Lucy Lu
Lucy Wucy

Nicknames for my dog Juliette:
Juli
Jujy
Jujy Fruit
Jules
Puppy Shmuppy
Puppy Wuppy
Poochy Woochy
Poopy Puppy (she pooped in the basement one day and thus...)
10:12 PM