Rear View

Mondays Missives

• While letting the baby play outside one day I leaned up against the wall of the porch to watch. He noticed how I was standing, smiled and ran over and began imitating my pose and didn't stop until he had it just right and then just beamed the most satisfied smile.



• That at once made me happy and terrified me.



• Everyone I've spoken to that knows a little history has liked Tom Cruises movie Valkrie though strangely, it was getting terrible reviews early on by people who could not have seen it. The same thing happened to Oliver Stones Alexander with Internet speculation on it's homoeroticism and historicity being blamed for it losing money in the US.



• On my desk I have a mummified toad and orange.



• A buzzard swooped just a few feet over my two year old sons head the other day on its way to dine on some unfortunate animal in the pasture. He watched it fly over and said,"Wow!"



• I entered a contest the other day that the grand prize was 15 guns of different types. I text a friend and said, Imagine the standoff I could have with that arsenal!



• His response? You worry me sometimes.
• Should that have been text, texted or something else?


• The building pictured above was Uday Husseins lake house on Lake Habbaniyah. Very pleasing, interesting, simple architecture I always thought. I'm unsure if it was designed by the British firms that worked for the Iraqi government or an architect in an Iraqi ministry.

A Hollow Shell

Is all that remains of the toad skunky ate in the flowerbed the other night. The ants seem to have enjoyed his leftovers. The circle of life at work.


click to enlarge

Hypno Toad Salutes You From Toad Heaven

This is the toad the skunk ate in the front flowerbed. He had been around since at least last summer. He spent the winter in the water meter box. This picture was taken shortly after he came out for the summer. I called him Hypno Toad because of that eye.

RIP Hypno Toad-thanks for the memories.