11:33 p.m. | 2003-11-25 Are Those Hawks Or Vultures Circling My Head? I made it through the first anniversary of MyDad�s death only to be awakened this morning by the fingerprints of Mr. Reaper. And, he�s really sneaky. Just so you know. So, I was sleeping when the phone rang. Right before I answered, I noticed that it was DearestSister calling. The only time she wakes me up is when she has bad news. However, I wasn�t expecting this. (CI:) Hullo? (Honestly, I had already closed my eyes again.) (DS:) Look, I don�t know how to say this other than just bluntly� (CI:) Uh huh. (DS:) Well, yesterday, ExBrotherInLaw (XBIL - her former husband) didn�t show up for work so they called his parents. They went to his house and found him dead. (CI:) (Suddenly wide awake.) What?! (DS:) Yeah, I know. So, he�s dead and I need your help. (CI:) What? Uh, okay. What can I do? (DS:) Well, EldestNephew needs to get there right away, of course. (EN is XBIL�s son.) So, I figured the easiest way to get him there would be to fly him over there. Can you check on that for me? (CI:) You want to fly EN from DearestSisterTown to EldestNephewTown (he was born there)? (DS:) Yeah. (CI:) Uh, you can�t do that. Well, not without hiring a charter plane. (DS:) What? Isn�t there a commuter plane? (CI:) Between DSTown and ENTown? No. Sorry, but no one commutes between those two towns. And, a charter plane? That�s at least $1,500 bucks. If you can get one. Do you want to just fly EN? (Just as a note, it�s only a 3-hour drive between these two small towns.) (DS:) No. ENGirlfriend too. (CI:) That�s at least $3,000 bucks. If you can charter a plane. Look, just put �em on a bus and send them to MyTown. I�ll pick them up and drive them there. (DS:) See, I don�t want you to do that. Driving is painful for you and I don�t want you driving at night. I don�t want to inconvenience you. Or anyone else, for that matter. However, I can�t drive them down there because I have to work. (CI:) That�s what family is for. Just send them my way and I�ll take care of it. (DS:) It�s still early� I�ll see what shakes out and call you back. I just wanted you to check on the plane stuff. (CI:) I will check that out, but I�m pretty sure there won�t be a flight. I�ll check though. I did check. The planes from DearestSisterTown only go to one place. One that�s nowhere near ENTown. In fact, neither airport is even on the internet. I had to call them on the phone. I explained all that to DS later. In the end, StepMom volunteered to drive EN and ENGirlfriend to MyTown and deliver them to EN�s aunt who was heading to ENTown also. That worked out well. So, what about XBIL, you ask. Well, I don�t know much more than I did this morning. I do know that authorities removed him (his body) and took him (it) somewhere. Ironically though, as EN is the (only) child of XBIL, he�s the first in line as next of kin. That means that they wouldn�t tell XBIL�s parents where they took him and they can�t proceed until EN arrives and makes the arrangements. That�s a lot to ask of a 21-year-old who�s now grieving both the loss of his grandfather and his father. And, who�s expecting his first child in a couple of months. I�ll let you know how all that pans out when I know. Meanwhile, I had a job interview today. I think it went well, but it�s a flooded market at the moment so who knows. I do know that I �clicked� with TheDirector and we pretty much just shot the breeze for an hour and some change. The next person was running late, so it wasn�t until the end of the interview that he asked me �the questions�. Actually, he did ask me the first question at the beginning of the interview. The question was: �Do you know any foreign languages?� I hesitated, as I tend to do when a question is not quite on point, and then told him I didn�t, except I knew sign language. See, sign language always falls in a strange category. I can�t honestly say that I know a foreign language or that I�m bilingual, yet I do know sign language. And, for the first time in my adult life, I heard this response: �Oh, ASL (American Sign Language)?� That sparked all kinds of conversations. Then, when I was leaving, he gave me some of their publications including a book. A book! An actual book! He said that I got the bonus prize of said book and that I could keep it. Which could be good or bad. Either he plans on asking me back for a second interview or that�s my consolation prize. However, it�s still a book. A good one at that. I really can�t take anything for granted at this point. And, I�m so done with all this death stuff. (Knock on wood.) Really. It can try a person�s nerve when it�s so chronic. So, please, just keep breathing. For me, okay? Oh and Leebo? Don�t think you�re off the hook at the moment. Oh no. As my arch-nemesis� well, let me just say that you�re always on my mind. So to speak. For you information, actually, I added another weapon to my arsenal. Along with my two feudal signs and my boomerang, I�ve added dental floss. Yeah, you heard me right. Dental floss. It�s amazingly wicked. So, what�s in your arsenal, Leebo? your thoughts? seed flower