Tales from the staff lounge: The Possum Lady

"When I lived in Pawpaw, Michigan, I was working at a little regional library. There were some eccentric--well, everyone who came to the library was eccentric. There was this woman everyone called "The Possum Lady". She used to rescue little possums from the nature center. I think the town eventually shut her down. She used to walk around with baby possums under her hat or in her bra....I had a lot of high-school students working for me. There was this one fifteen year-old named Tyler. She came up to him once and said, "Do you want to see my possums?" [makes gesture of exposing cleavage] Yeah, his face looked much like yours does now....That was a running joke among us for years."

Social report

Between the ongoing Film Festival and the start of my opera season, I'm so overbooked this week that I've been putting everyone off till next. Now it occurs to me, though, that it's not much better since I'll be spending almost half of it down in STL visiting family. As a result, my annual pilgrimage to Pilsen for Dia de los Muertos will have to take place this coming weekend. (I hope to swing by again on my way back, but I need to pick up calaveras before the trip.) I think this time I'll try to score me some meras carnitas--I'm so tired of seeing the name abused by other vendors! (Now I know how fajitas fans have felt for ages.)

Thanks to judicious pressure from Rubeus and ottr4bear, Nuphy finally put out and had that rooftop barbecue he's been promising us since forever. Holy crap, last Saturday couldn't have been better. However, we had some delicate flowers with us who got a little chilly after sundown and moved the party inside where it degenerated into tiny QuickTime movies and tickling. An unexpected highlight was getting to see an old friend and learning about his sweet new condo on Wellington and Broadway. Believe you me, I've begun chipping away for a party invite. Like the last, it could be another year in coming, but I suspect it will be equally worth it.