There are two reasons I could never live in the country. Make that...out in the country. Well, actually, there are dozens of reasons I could never live OUT in the country but two significant reasons dominate the list. Bears and UFO's. I am terrified of bears. Remember the movie that was sort of a Swiss Family Robinson movie but in the mountains and a grizzly bear attacks the house? As a kid I used to read magazines in my father's store. Men's magazines. Some were just excuses to look at the sexy pictures (tame by today's standarads) and some were loaded with stories of manly adventure. A strong impression if dozens of man-bear encounters. People were constantly surprising a bear and coming out the worse for it. At least in San Fran...I don't worry about being attacked by a bear. Unless I am hanging about south of Market! (Such a wonderful and unplanned SF inside joke) Once I had a nightmare about a San Francisco earthquake and in the dream I was in the streetcar tunnel under Twin Peaks and during the quake the bears had escaped from the zoo and were in the tunnel with me. It makes sense I suppose because if a bear is going to get from the zoo to south of Market, the quickest way is through the tunnel. LOL

Now, UFO's seem not to be a problem in bigger cities. With the exception of 50's movies where the Flying Saucer always takes a route that goes right by the Capitol building. In 5th or 6th grade I walked home at about 10pm one night, certain that I was going to be attacked by a UFO. Seriously, my heart was pounding loud enough to attrack an alien when I reached the safety of home. I walked all over San Francisco. I may have had reason to fear the denizens of some of the areas I passed through, but I never worried about being probed. Wait a minute. This is San Francisco...there is probing going on just about everywhere!

I was at the movies this afternoon. Just one movie but you know...that's what people say. At the MOVIES. My nephew recommended a book called No Country For Old Men. It was pretty good. Unique style of writing, The movie is playing so I dug out of the snow drifts to see it. I go as much for the popcorn as for the film. The theaters are going to start showing an HD live presentation of the Saturday afternoon Metropolitan Opera. I have loved opera since I was 11. Weird child! Maybe the aliens DID get me. The first one is on the 15th and I'll be there. I wonder if it is gauche to eat popcorn at the opera.

So, I like to sit in the first row of the stadium seating because there is a metal railing and I can put my feet up on it. Just like I used to do when I watched Hopalong Cassidy when I was 10. I used to arrange my jacket on my lap, empty the popcorn into the lining of the jacket and feet it down the sleeve into my hand. For some reason it tasted better after it made that trip. It isn't THAT stupid. Don Bleu mixes JuJuBees with his popcorn and my sister-in-law mixes popcorn with Junior Mints.

There was no in my row except me. And no one in the row behind me. Until some guy entered and with all the available seats chose to sit in the one directly behind me. He was a Space Invader! That was wrong. The was weird. And to make it even worse for the first 10 minutes he cleared his throat every 15-20 seconds. It was a good movie so I soon forgot he was there and I don't remember being probed but I did give him a dirty look on the way out of the theater.

On the way home the low gas light came on. I hadn't noticed how low it had gotten. The snow was pretty thick the last couple of days and the visibility was poor. Plus I was on the look-out for bears and UFO's and I just don't multitask well. I got gas at a strange station and it was disconcerting because I couldn't figure out how the thing worked. I GOT gas. That sounds disgusting. But then I don't want to say I pumped gas because that sounds kind of pornographic. We used to laugh like hell about pumping ethel.

Anyway, I made it through the storm....kept my world protected. (Sorry Barry--And Sorry about your politics too...)

Speaking about Christmas....I have a wonderful spot for a new flat screen....

Rob