My father and I were rolling along 322 late Monday afternoon, heading up to a cabin in the mountains west of Port Royal. A rabbit was in the middle of the highway, hopping nervously like rabbits do. It hopped under my father's motorcycle and the next instant was tumbling down the highway. A head twisted in grotesque inversion of its proper orientation. A flash of red and fur. A second went by and then I passed it on the right.

It was only a rabbit, and my father didn't even mention it when we stopped late to call and say that we were almost there. When I mentioned it he noted that the rabbit had been flipped into the air by the tire and had bounced off of his shoe. I'd often worried about hitting animals while riding, and this did alievate my fears that I would get hurt from the encounter.

At the cabin my cousin has memorized parts of Search for the Holy Grail, my aunt and uncle are involved in the Cambodian chapter of NION, my other uncle is planning on making all of his kids take Spanish in high school even if they don't want to, and my other cousin split his finger open while playing with explosions in a parking lot. He's being a real trooper about it, actually. He's doesn't whine, just asks occasionally if it's time for more codiene. The aunt, uncle, and two cousins will soon be returning to Cambodia to complete their MCC terms there. When we see each other next I'll have a J.D.
posted by weiss @ 11:57 AM