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As a part of continuing my friend, Marie’s, challenge to photograph and write about the “ordinary,” let me say I’m not sure anything about yesterday was ordinary. The day began in the limestone courthouse of my little town. After several hours of listening to testimony in a case James had been an integral part of, and that affects me and my neighbors and our right to enforce our deed restrictions, I had to leave to check on Goldie. My girl is on pain meds and is restricted to the smallest room of my Little House, the bathroom. For now, all I can say is there’s a real possibility I may have to send my best girl to live with God, and I’m not ready, yet, to think about losing another family member. After checking on Goldie, I headed into San Antonio for an appointment with the dermatologist. Because I carry the BRCA2+ breast cancer gene, which means I’m predisposed to melanoma, once a year “Dr. Humorless,” cryogenic bottle in one hand, and a magnifying glass dropped down over his glasses, checks every inch of me. I think he enjoys it, but I’m not sure whether “it” is my naked body or the process of freezing off suspicious moles. If I had to guess, I’d say the freezing part gets Dr. Humorless’s juices flowing, if you know what I mean. It’s just the way his one, magnified Mr. Magoo eye looks up at me, as if to say, “Heh, heh, heh, little girl.” Reminiscent of Hannibal Lector, he makes me wonder if my moles would go well with “some fava beans and a nice chianti.” My next stop was a television studio to shoot a spot for Cure Fur Cancer, an upcoming fur fashion show and cancer fundraiser. You would have thought I would be a pro at this, but I was terrible! When I started talking about cancer and the devastating affect it has on families, I was emotional toast! No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get the lump out of my throat. It wasn’t just that I was talking about how families are pulled apart by cancer. My emotions about James, and the case he worked so hard on and the prospect of losing Goldie, were all jumbled up together with cancer families. Carol Glaze, owner of Morris Kaye & Sons Furs, was so gracious about my on camera ineptness. Thank you, Carol. Each year Carol does an amazing job of rounding up ever more awesome auction items and then making it easy for people to bid lots of money for them. If you’re in the San Antonio area and would like to join us, September 15th, or donate money to Cure Fur Cancer, come on down!
By the end of the day, I’d put 150 miles on my car, but not before I stopped at a favorite place for a quick bite to eat. What could be more ordinary and basic than a simple meal of water, that when really cold, has the texture of velvet; goat cheese and basil pesto; fruit and crackers and prosciutto and fontina paninis? Considering my long, disjointed day, it was exactly what I needed. The Fonze would have said it was “Perfectamundo.”