The View Up Here

Today, in the midst of Easter dinner (a homemade tomato-turkey meat sauce over gluten-free spaghetti), Spaz the Kitty ran through the patio door proudly showing off her latest catch: a chipmunk - who was still alive, and who proceeded to wriggle its way free and dart into the kitchen, never to be seen again. Well, at least for the last six hours or so. No amount of verbal coaxing has done a thing. For one thing, I don't speak Chipmunk. But, with any luck, the apartment maintenance guy can move the stove and fridge and get the little bugger to come out. Barring that, an exterminator might have to be retained to lure it out, capture it, and let it go (I'm going for my idealistic, non-violent version of an exterminator. Call me a dreamer.). Why I tell this story? Sometimes things come dashing into our lives and take up temporary (short or long-term) residence in our homes, hearts, minds. Sometimes, you can knock it out with a well-placed flashlight beam and the tip of a wooden ...