I was driving along in my pickup today, and got to thinking about loss, and not just losing things but giving things up, existentially cleaning house, if you will. It has been a season of such for me, and the life around me. Let’s see if I can list a few examples:

• I’ve lost a little weight. About 15 pounds, maybe a tad more. On a diet, you know. And swimming. Exercise is good, I’m sure, though the last few days it’s been hard to swim without thinking of the people in New Orleans wading through that stew of pollution.
• Happy has been blowing coat, losing some of her hair, getting ready to put on a new one for the colder part of the year. She’s OK; maybe needs a little protein in her diet, I think. (That photo of Happy looks crappy, because it’s hard to get her to hold still, and my photoshop is on der fritz. I had to use Microsoft Photo Editor. Imagine my dismay.)
• Speaking of dogs, I lost mine. Not used to being alone yet. And the dogs lost and suffering in the hurricane area are really hard to look at. I wish I had the means to go down there and save them all and give them tummy rubs and cookies. What? I mean it.
• I appear to be losing one of my neighbors here in the condos. Now this is good news. Oh yeah. God bless her, this woman is a screaming banshee. I’ve heard people use the F word in every sentence before, and I’m not a stick up the butt prude. Usually, it’s comedians, and I can take it for a while because it’s funny. This lady is not funny. She does this despite the fact that children are in the area, and can really hear her – including her own kids. She likes to take her phone out on her balcony and really get verbal with somebody, about how much her life sucks and her boyfriend and her children. Or something. She’s loud but not exactly clear; barely coherent. And sometimes she and the boyfriend have loud arguments, late at night. It’s not cool, and in dense condominium situations, we shouldn’t put up with it. So I’m glad she’s going. I hope she finds some contentment, or at least housing with a few hundreds yards of desert around it.