Date: 2008-02-21
To: Shocking
Miles today: 0.0

My, how the tables have turned. I've been sayin' it for a year: I will be safer in the Appalachians than in a city. Now they're starting to believe me.Today, rumor had it that "there's a murderer in Lytle!" The rumor was true. Apparently a man was arguing with his wife on Shephard Road (a few miles up the highway from Lytle), and he "bludgeoned her to death". Then he went to the Lytle Nursing Home to confess the deed to his ailing mother, still drenched in his wife's blood. The nursing home called the police, and the murderer was apprehended.Last week the big news in San Antonio was that a murdering young white upright-looking couple bought a machete at Target and proceeded to slice up one of their fellow citizens with the aim to take the man's money and credit cards. The couple fled, and the cops were searching. Two days ago, Natalia and Devine (the small towns 5 and 10 miles down the road from Lytle) were in lock down because the police traced the slaughtered man's credit card charges to the area. The couple were thought to be heading to Mexico.Another consideration: yet another college shooting has occurred. Nobody worried about me when I went to UT, ironically the site of the notorious Charles Whitman shootings from the tower.So now it appears that I am not safe in my former haunts. My small sheltered corner has been corrupted. Murderers, strip club, porn shop, and pawn shop have moved to our "City on the Grow" within the last year. Frankly, I'm itchin' to leave. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------I had another AT dream last night, effectively the same dream that I had a few weeks ago. I was doing something mundane, like baking biscuits when I realized that I was supposed to go to the airport to hit the trail that day. By the time I realized this, I was going to be too late to catch my plane. I didn't have time to gather and double-check my gear, I just threw things into my pack and ran out the door. I finally got the airport, really anxious because I didn't know whether I had all my stuff, had to buy a new plane ticket, and began waiting for my flight. Then I went to the bathroom and all of the toilets were out of order, and some were functioning as fish tanks because they had minnows swimming in the bowl. It was odd.Last time I had an AT dream, I was freaking out because I was doing something normal and suddenly realized that I was supposed to be boarding my plane in 30 minutes. I hauled arse to the airport, but couldn't find the gate fast enough and missed my flight. Had to buy another ticket.I think I'm just worried about being unprepared. Actually, I'm way prepared. I'm so prepared that I've been eating bad food uncontrollably. Stuffing myself.   Usually I feel like I should control myself, because I don't want to gain a lot of weight. But now, when I know I'm going to be burning thousands of calories a day in a few weeks (2 weeks until I leave!), I don't feel dieting is worth the effort. Eh, I don't mind having a little more insulation around my bones in preparation for the first cold month or two. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------AND...It's the Chinese YEAR OF THE RAT. My year. "Rats know exactly where to find solutions and can take care of themselves and others without problems. They use their instinctive sense of observation to help others in times of need and are among the most fit of all the Animal signs to survive most any situation."The Internet cannot lie: I'm adaptable. It says so.My week's been filled with mice, or at least more so than other weeks. A few days ago I opened one of our kitchen drawers looking for a pot holder and found a mouse instead. The cats occasionally bring mice in the house, presumably so they can torture them in the comfort of conditioned air. The mouse often gets away. So we have a resident mouse.Also, we had a resident mouse at the dentist office for at least a day. Until he made a fatal mistake. He scurried across the floor in front of the other dental assistant. Traps were bought. The mouse perished.But still, it's a sign. I know it.