Well, no sooner did a guy drop dead next to me on a plane, then I found myself back on a plane, heading back to New York City. Greatest city on Earth. And extra nice in Springtime, when it doesn't reek of pee and garbage everywhere. So the flight was smooth, even though a fat guy was snoring and a pushy little yenta was jabbing me with her elbow. But after a six hour ordeal, I'm there, and it just so happens that night falls and I was asleep, at about 4 am. And I hear shouting. I was on the 13th floor, but it was loud enough to wake me. Then I hear a gun shot. So I lie there, thinking I should really get up and call the police, but shortly I hear a siren. So I look out the window, and there, right on the street below is a guy, with about ten squad cars taping off the crime scene. Naturally I presume the guy is dead. It turns out that he survived, as I found in a newsreport about two days later. The point of which was shootings are rare at 72nd and Columbus.

But it was kind of upsetting nevertheless.

So that was Mother's Day. But that skips over going back on the red eye, which I hate doing, because then my sleep is off for several days. But I did and had a nice visit, and even managed to get up to the farm, which is just about nearing completion, so Theo can burn it down again. But it really has come a long way, and this weekend, what with all the blossoms on the trees, and the pond was full, and the grass mowed, and the house freshly painted, it really did seem that promise was once again in the air. And Dan who flew in from Viet Nam and drove from Michigan to DC, drove up from DC to the farm to work, which really earns him some points from me. Plus he got the pump going at last, so we had water to drink, which makes a big difference when you are suffering with heat and dust.

Then I went to my adorable neices birthday party and eventually I came back to California, on a flight where no one died, and I  got my car fixed from the accident, which wasn't really an accident, more like I was parked and someone crashed into my and left a note. But the point about that is all things are moving forward, including my wife, who is moving westward, to come back to live with me again. I'd call that progress.