'tis the season

for a frightening anecdote.

do enjoy.

once upon a time there was a girl named, well, this girl is me. she (me) having just made an unexpected--less than welcome--relocation across these great united states, has found herself mostly, ummm, friendless, if you will (will you?), and lonely. shocked? appalled? me too. but, allow me to point out that even the most outgoing of souls (which the aforementioned is often categorized) would feel much the same in a scenario such as hers. change is not her (my) forte. least of all the unexpected. yet, here she was. without friend--or foe, for that matter. (the glass is still half full, let us not forget.) one day, loins girded, she headed "downtown"* to her son's soccer game, where she told herself she was going to put some of her (my) incessant-need-to-talk-skills to good use, by approaching some of these women she has met once or twice in her recent comings and goings in her new small town. she did. in fact, she approached three women she'd seen here and there. she counted because she was nervous. unusually so. unfortunately, conversation wasn't exactly the friendship-blossoming, love-at-first-sight kind she'd hoped to strike. in other words, no play-dates were made. but it was a start. feeling proud of herself for taking the proverbial bull by it's accompanying horns, she (me) sat down on the blanket and patted herself on the back. it was then that she noticed...her sweater...was on...inside out.

like an unfastened balloon being released into the air, so went the wind from her sails.


happy halloween.


*come to my town. you will then see why i went so far as to quote downtown. (but seriously. come to my town. i would love a visitor.) and yes, it is commonly referred to as "downtown."