I’m still here … once in awhile. But the truth is, Xanga bores me most days anymore.

L. was the cutest, sweetest, most full of life little girl you could ever imagine. She’d run around along the sidelines every week while we played ultimate with the biggest grin on her face and was starting to try to throw the frisbee. There was no doubt about it, someday she would be out on the field with the rest of us.

She’d just turned two. I’d been invited to her birthday party and didn’t make it. Now I regret it.

Rest in peace L. You won’t be forgotten.

I just found out that I missed one of the best events of the summer.

Neighbors are involved in a pageant for a local festival. I don’t really want to call it a beauty pageant because I’m not sure that’s exactly what it is meant to be, but the end result is crowning a festival queen and her court.

Anyway, those selected end up at our neighbor’s house a few times leading up to the actual festival for reasons I’m not clear on (nor really care about). Today was apparently one of those days.

Historically these young women have acted like they have the combined intelligence of my left big toe (my right big toe has an IQ of 174 and therefore isn’t a fair comparison). For example, some of you may remember the synchronized u-turn (even my left big toe was mocking them over that one).

Anyway, today as they were leaving the neighbor yelled a “hi” to my mother and from what I hear, the women all turned and waved ... in unison.

I’m beginning to believe the festival court must be robotic not human. (My left big toe agrees; my right one has some other theory that’s completely over my head.)

Regardless of the truth both of my big toes and I are holding out hope for further ridiculousness in the months to come.

In other news … Chuck = amazing.

It seems not that long ago that I was writing about the death of my uncle. Today an aunt died (other side of the family), also to cancer. It was another expected one. For most of my life she lived a day’s drive a way so I didn’t really know her well, but she was a good person who never let the cancer and knowledge of impending death get her down. I just wish her last days hadn’t been so painful.