Today’s Thursday, which means Brody’s friend will be coming to visit: the guy from Open Arms of Minnesota. When I first signed up with Open Arms, I had a different driver every week. Then they started sending the same guy every week. I think the reason I have a regular driver now is that he’s a real cat lover, and he enjoys it when Brody comes bounding out the door to greet him. He calls Brody “Buddha” because he’s getting to be such a pudgy cat.
Yes, Brody’s developed a little bit of a weight problem. When we took him in for his shots earlier this month, the veterinarian commented that he seemed pretty healthy, but could stand to lose a little weight. I don’t feed him too much: just a third of a cup twice a day. Jim and I are going to have to start buying diet cat food, I suppose. Overweight cats tend to be at risk for developing diabetes. And one diabetic in the house is enough.
At least he’s up to date on his shots.
Look, Ma … I’m On TV!
This Saturday, June 21, Twin Cities Public Television Channel 17 will broadcast Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus: Reflections on Meth Addiction. The program includes our recent hit, Through A Glass, Darkly by Michael Shaieb. I haven’t seen it yet, though I had a chance to the other night. Transportation would have been an issue. So I’ll be waiting until Saturday at eight, when they’ll be showing it on television. The camera spent a lot of time in my face during the close-up shots, so I anticipate there may be a close-up or two of me in the program somewhere. It will be the first time I’ve gotten to see the show.
After our TV debut, we’ll be taking our show on the road … to Miami, where we will be performing excerpts from the show at the GALA Choruses Festival, as well as two full performances we’ll be doing on the side. It’s hard to believe it’s less than a month away.
Once again, I am watching the tropics this year. Since childhood, tracking hurricanes has been a hobby of mine. It was a little more urgent back then: now it is unlikely that a named storm will get anywhere near me. But it’s still a fun pastime. Now I do it on the computer. The main reason I keep an eye on hurricanes is because of my family — I almost thought I was going to lose some of them during Katrina — but also because I will be flying into the “hurricane belt” this summer.
I’m not too worried about going to Miami for the GALA Festival. While July does fall during hurricane season, you don’t typically see major storms that time of year. If we get hit by any weather that has a name, it will probably be at most a tropical storm or at best a Category 1 hurricane: nothing to worry about. When you need to worry is between August 15 and September 15, which is when the bad ones tend to fall, like Camille (August 17), Betsy (September 9), Andrew (August 24) and Katrina (August 29). I did some historical research, and Florida has never encountered a major hurricane during July, though there may have been a Tropical Storm or two.
Of course, with what’s happening to the global climate, the rules may be off.
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