And Then There Were Two...

I was talking to my friend Will Briarwood earlier today. I had not talked to him for a few weeks.

“Sorry I haven’t been in touch. It’s been a tough few months.”

I know. How are the cats doing?

“OK, I think. It’s just the queen and the little guy, now – it’s been about nine years since we only had two cats. They get along pretty well, but she is twice as old as he is, and doesn’t have much patience for him sometimes. And some nights she will start walking around the house, crying – we’re not sure if she’s just getting old, or if she misses the other cats, or if she’s hungry, or all of the above. She passed her most recent exam, so I think we’ll just keep an eye on her for now.”

You and Mary doing ok?

“Aside from feeling terrible about the old girl and the big guy, I guess so. You know, a lot has happened this year, and I suppose at some time I have to start thinking about other things.”

In good time.

“I mean, Al Gore won a Nobel. The Cubs were in the playoffs for a few days, the White Sox were terrible, and it doesn’t look like the Bears are going back to the Super Bowl any time soon. The tv writers are on strike. There’s all kinds of problems with the economy – and Mary’s daughter’s fiancé just got laid off.”

Hillary Clinton could be the next president. Or Mitt Romney, or Rudy Giuliani.

“Assuming the country survives twelve more months of Shrub and Cheney.”

I was looking at my 401k a week ago, and it looked great. And then the stock markets starting dropping.

“We’re not retiring for what, fourteen years? Keep saving, and don’t mess with what you have.”

I will keep that in mind.

“And we’ll talk further about concerts, and tv and stuff.”

Ten four.