January 20, 2009

I’m watching Barack Obama’s inauguration live on CNN-UK here in the Netherlands. Puffed up because of the flak jacket he was obviously wearing, it’s being shown live on 5 channels here (we have about 20 channels to surf through). Senator Ted Kennedy has collapsed, with seizures, and CNN is focusing on his demise, his obituary and his legacy. I expect much more from CNN, but it’s been a while since I watched them seriously. And don’t get me started on Campbell Brown…

Amid all the fanfare, I’m feeling such loyalty and, dare I say, patriotism, to my new citizenship, America. With our new president at the helms, I know the country is now in good hands. Especially, also, because the outgoing president is, at this moment, 30,000 feet in the air and out of Washington’s reach.

Scarf, on the other hand, seems down. It/he/she may be feeling homesickness after watching the inauguration with us. It may have been seeing all those hats and scarves in the crowd. Maybe, he/she/it wished it could have been there too. Not sure what the problem is... Thinking about it more, it may, in fact, also be keeping a watchful eye on the extra 6 minutes of daylight we get each day – a sure sign that winter is losing ground fast and, thus, that hats, gloves and (gulp) scarves tend to go the way of the closet. Hmmm… In hopes of lifting Scarf’s spirits, I decided to take it/he/she out today to a windy, frigid little medieval fortress situated on a bluff. A perfect place for Scarf to prove its mettle. We found a shivering little bronze statue and Scarf went straight to work. The bronze was nearly glowing and when the molten metal began dripping on the 12th century cobblestones, we knew that Scarf’s work here was done