Spring Treats

The postings on this site are my own and don't necessarily represent IBM's positions, strategies or opinions.

A Dog and Lawn Hygiene...Unrelated

On Monday evening before class, I met a French bulldog named Digby. A cute, young woman was walking him on 119th toward Amsterdam. He was butterscotch-tan and wonderfully friendly. Fortunately, his walker, and he, let me pet him. He put me in a sweet mood for a number of hours.

And then the landscaping guys were doing spring cleaning of our property yesterday and today. All of the dead leaves (that look like salamanders in the dark, after a long enough day at work) are gone and the emerging flower stalks look longer, since they're fully visible now.

First Daffodils and Hearing Hot Dogs

In December, long before flower-stalks and first-spring landscaping, I posted disconsolately about my hearing. Today, I had a three-month checkup; typically, since the fall of 2004, I've gone back every six months, but because of some poor results during my last visit, the doctor scheduled another checkup for today. Thank you, God. It was an anomaly and did not repeat itself today.

"Do I have good hearing for an adult with otosclerosis, or good hearing for an adult period?"

The doctor and the audiologist both said, "You have good hearing for an adult altogether." And the audiologist added, "Most adults' range is around 13,000 or 14,000 and yours is nearly 15,000 [something-hertz]."

On my way to the doctor, on 2nd Avenue and 59th if I remember correctly, I saw my first daffodils of spring. Ours are budding, but not yet blooming. These were clustered around a small tree, outside a boutique.

I'm feeling extra-alive today.