One superstition that I didn't mention on the survey was the thought that things come in threes. Especially bad things. This was borne out on Thursday. The first bad news was the third fatal car accident I heard about this week. In this case, it's an inlaw's relative. So sad.

Secondly, Sam got suspended again and the social worker says this may change the recommendations for the IEP (Individual Education Plan). They may decide to transfer the child after all. This could be disastrous, as both suspensions occurred when the teacher was away. Sam has bonded with this teacher, and it's hard to see how a transfer could be a positive experience. I pointed out the timing to the teacher, who hadn't realized it. (That's why I'm the CASA and he isn't.) Also, the social worker is changing her court recommendation. I suspect the new arrangement will actually work out better, but it makes most of my court report obsolete. (Besides, I'd picked "Alex" as my next non-gender-specific pseudonym for a CASAkid, and now it looks like I'll be with "Sam" somewhat longer.)

The third thing is also the worst for us. Rich went in to see Nuclear Medicine, and they sent him away for a month because of the CTscan of Monday. He was upset, of course. He said to me "Now I'm not going to get to all that stuff around the house." I was definitely not on the ball. Wait a minute. "All that stuff around the house?" Last year, while he was healthy, the number of things he did in the house could be counted on the fingers of one's nose. Two years ago the shower leaked and he'd started in the den by taking the ceiling down and putting up insulation. Today, the shower leaks, and the cats play with the fraying carpet caused by that, and there is no ceiling in the den. Since he has retired, I have been really good about not mentioning "honeydews", and therefore, it's all "honeydidn't." One suspects, somehow, that if he felt good, the shower would leak and there would be no ceiling.
Still, we would like NukeMed to start to fix him, to make him better. It's going to take months, but let's get started!

There was some good news: the 70s motel lamp is finally gone. Rich caught the people when they picked it up, as well, and let them have the worst of the VCRs. He's thinking we might get some use of the one remaining, though I doubt it.

And, in so-so news, 'Bagger was back from carousing in the mountains. Well, actually, not entirely, but at least he checked in. He hadn't been et by bears, but the jury is still out on whether this is good or not.

Friday I went to see Double Jeopardy. What a great movie! I got wrapped up in it and didn't want it to end. I just love Tommy Lee Jones anyway.

Then I stopped at PetSmart to get kitty litter (I suspect the monsters eat the stuff, it goes so fast!) and picked up a doggy squeak ball which lost its squeaker instantly. Too bad, Sailor really loves these things and I'd hoped the fabric would protect it. I also got the cats a jack-o-lantern toy and dangled it from the Kit Mahal. They love this.

We got a mysterious charge on Rich's card and he keeps forgetting to question it.

Last night was a BAD night with the shoulder. Whenever I think it's getting better, it reaches out and fools me. Exercise, Tai Chi, stretching! Ow. However, the left one seems to be healed up, either that or I'm so used to the pain I don't notice any more.

Rich went out in the morning and sold Tootsie Rolls for the Knights of Columbus fundraiser for special-needs children. This zapped him for the rest of the day. He was out like a light when I left to take Sam to the ZooBoo. Sam had been looking forward to it, but never did understand that it was not a place, but an event. We stopped at the entrance and I bought a ZooKey to run the explanation tapes throughout the zoo. I let Sam wear it, but explained it was mine. Each of these tape machines has a "PUSH" button which tells how wonderful the ZooKey is. I swear I saw one rotten little kid catch sight of Sam heading toward the machine and race to push the button first. It turns out the key overrides the button anyway, though, so there's one disappointed bratty 6-year-old girl.

Sam picked up a pretty gold bracelet that had been dropped. Nobody was around, but I suggested we take it to the lost and found, because some little child would be missing it and would be sad. Sam agreed easily, to my surprise.

The ZooBoo itself was an extra fee. There were docents inside talking about bats and rats and black cats, a "maze", touchy-feely boxes, bugs, a graveyard of extinct species, and a pumpkin patch. I thought it was not all that, but on the other hand, Sam wanted me to take him/her back tomorrow. We each got our pumpkins, and then walked through the reptile house before we went home. Sam wanted more than one pumpkin, which may be why the child wanted to come back, but I gave my pumpkin to the family, too.

I bought ice cream and got MINE all over me. Sam, of course, wanted everything, but didn't nag too much. The child wanted to go back to ZooBoo, to Fairy Tale Town, and to a park, among other activities we might do. I had considered the maze again, but this is out of the county and demands a lot of paperwork for permissions. It's ironic, I can't go 10 miles to Davis or to Roseville, but I could go forty to Locke or Isleton.

I decided to drive home through town and we were four or five blocks past Tower Records and Tower Books when Sam asked me what "T-O-W-E-R" spelled. I was thrilled, because of the curiousity, first, and because Sam had remembered 5 letters to ask me about. This bodes well for school. With the lost and found thing, it was an encouraging day.

The town is covered with smoke. There are plenty of wildfires burning near here and all over northern California.

"Doing a Lewinsky"!