"Cleaning Up"

It isn't even December, yet our doorbell has begun a-ringin'... la saison des étrennes à commencer! It started with the Garbagemen (Les Éboueurs) tonight, to be followed by the street sweepers (Les Balayeurs), who just happen to share the same card. The card's design never changes- apparently not since the 1960's. In a week or so the the Postman/Lady (Facteur) usually comes around to collect; for our donation we will no doubt receive a fluffy kitten calendar. Some years a rogue trash man comes around with a few leftover cards, trying to blackmail us with his innuendos of service interruption and stray banana peels. If we produce this ubiquitous card as proof of payment, that usually gets rid of them.

Isotopes come on little cat feet

The cold fog hanging over Paris tonight is invigoration. Perhaps it is the Iodine 131 that gives it that little extra something-or-other. Who knows what it holds in store for us. Beautiful, just the same.

Quad

Today I logged into an online banking sight and was asked a security question: Which city was your mother born in? Well, I know she was born in the Quad Cities, but couldn't recall exactly which one. After two wrong guesses I figured I had one more before I was locked out of their system, yet I still had two cities to go. Then I realised I had forgotten the fourth. Oh no, sweet Jesus, no. The anxiety was just too much for me, so I just quit. I now remember the fourth city was Rock Island.