It turns out the trouble with the van was a dead battery. This flummoxed Rich enough that he forgot that our Sears battery had a 2-year warranty, so we spent $200 on one at the garage. Then he found the paperwork (we bought it in Seattle in early September of '97) and so he also has a new Sears battery.

Since I couldn't go out with Sam I called the teacher and asked how the week had gone. He had a couple of concerns and I was able to connect a few dots for services he didn't know Sam could have. I'm sure they'd have found out eventually, but not within a week. Hey, this CASA thing is going to do some good after all! Sam's care provider called me a "Big Sister" and while there is nothing wrong with that, the CASA program is supposed to be more. Being able to suggest a few things to the teacher made me feel like the effort is worthwhile.

I haven't been an award slut for awhile, so this was a nice surprise.

Vince continues to have trouble. This should have been a fun trip and a high adventure for him, across the scenery of Montana and Wyoming and South Dakota, but he's still in Kalispell with a dead truck. They fixed the clutch for $600 and he started off and made it all of a block or two when he couldn't get into high gear. He drove right back to the garage and it now appears to be the transmission, as we suspected all along. His current plan is to rent a UHaul and ditch the truck. The pity of that is, if he'd been going to do that, it would have been a lot easier in Washington and cost him a lot less that the $800 he's thrown into it to date. Argh. I guess all high adventure doesn't go well. He's really working for this master's before he ever gets to Purdue!

The friend's parents who are putting him up are great. I'm thinking of him as the WonderBoy Who Came to Dinner.

Wowbagger and I went to see the Thomas Crown Affair. I never saw the original, so I had no expectations, but even Wowbagger was pleased with the remake. I think Brosnan is better in this than as James Bond, and that hurts since he so obviously is a JB type. (But I liked Timothy Dalton a lot, and resented them pushing him out.) Anyway, this is a good movie! It left the viewer with a puzzle, too.

Fitch is the taller of the two cats, and Abercrombie is longer. He's more wirey while she's fluffier and desperate for petting. Fitch's eyes are watering again and I called the vet and am putting ointment on them again. The two dug out another dust monster, I think from under the fridge. It was as least as big as they are. They also located a dog toy I hadn't known was gone, a green chewing donut. However, the best kitty toy is that old standby, the plastic pull from a milk bottle. They play with it for hours.
Yesterday I was petting a sound asleep Fitch and reading the paper. I did make a rustling sound, but Fitch didn't react, till 10 seconds later. He LEAPED from my lap and came awake halfway across the room. I can only figure it was a wowser of a nightmare. Fitch is pretty much fearless, while Crombie is a scaredy-cat (though she's getting less skittish, as well.) They still can't play with the dog unattended, though they're pretty good at divide and conquer. One will be distracting the loud end and the other can play with his tail. Sailor's tail is very sensitive, so he'll wheel around and the other kitten gets a chance at all that lovely fringe.

I agree with Xeney's rant. Hurting any living thing, outside the bounds of pest control, agriculture, and hunting, should be a bigger deal than possession of marijuana, yes. I read the paper and think I'm pretty well-informed on California, but Xeney always educates me.