Nasrudin was a famous–possibly mythical–Sufi mystic, holy man, and nut case–famous for both his wisdom and his absent-mindedness.  Once, he was seen riding his donkey wildly arouund the marketplace, darting this way and that .  A neighbor asked him what he wasa doing–he replied–”I’m looking for my donkey.” So whenever we do something, well, brainless, we say we are doing a Nasrudin.

This morning, I did something I have never done before.  I wanted to go into town, changed out of my stained insulated hunter’s pants into decent-looking Dockers–and neglected to put my wallet into the new pants.  i discovered this when I got to my first stop in town.  Since I carry my cash in a shirt pocket–sometimes I hurt myself getting my wallet out–this was no problem.  It MAY be a problem when i go to rent a video at Blockbustewrs–I am hoping the manager will recognize me–I’m a regular.  However, it WILL be a significant problem if a cop decides to pull me over.  This hasn’t happened for years–not since I had a taillight out–so I’m not worried on that score.

Anyway, I finish my shopping at Fred Meyers, go to pull out of my parking space, and notice I had left the rear hatch of my van wide open.  Got out, shut it.  fine.  Feeling happy, got some major bargains–kitty litter and cat food at half-price.

Good to go. 

As I pulled out onto the highway, I remembered the one item that I expressly went there to get.

(PS–I just tried to go to SuSus site, and I think I blocked here–clicked on the wrong tiny, next to impossible to read thingie.)

As I last reported, I recently hit a moose with my car–no harm, no foul, but we were both a bit shaken.  I must have some serious moose karma going on–here’s the latest.

I was in my wee cabin, standing in front of the two-drawor file cabinet–the top of it is my sole food preparation surface.  I was pimping my patmeal, digging through a bag of trail mix picking out raisins and dried cranberries and nuts to add to the plain Quaker Oats.  I was facing west, and just happened to glimpse a moose going by, behind my cabin.

I quickly put the oatmeal on top of the fridge so the cats wouldn’t get it, jumped into my sno-jogs, grabbed my camera and went outside.  It had stopped near my friendly neighborhood dumpster–the one that supplies us with clothing, household items, food, drugs, cash, and so on.  I snapped a few shots, then ventured closer–maybe 15 yards away, snapping and flashing away.  This got her attention, and she stared eyeing me, so I beat a strategic retreat.

I told the landlord, and he came out with me –by then, it had left the dumpster and was heading for the highway.  Attracted by our voices, she   did a 180, and headed up over the railroad tracks,  This was good for her–otherwise, she might have been hit.  There is a lot fo truck trfafic on the highway, since it is the main route from Anchorage to Denali to  Fairbanks.

Landlord said he had NEVER seen a moose on the property before.  And it was a one in a milion shot for me to see the thing, since there is only that one small spot in the cabin where I can see out that window–it faces another cabin.

Now there’s a phrase you don’t hear every day–at least, not outside of Alaska.  I have been driving here for quite a few years, seen dozens  of them a long the highway, and  had a few close calls–now I actually hit one of the critters.

I was driving into the Big Lake Library, going slowly since it was snowing.  Suddenly this immense bull just came running from my right–those things move fast!– and was right in front of me.

I jammed on the brakes–thank God for anti-lock brakes–and  executed a controlled swerve, and darn near missed the big guy altogether.  As it was,  I grazed his hind legs and knocked him down sprawling, but he quickly regained his footing and ran off.

There was no damage done to the car, my beloved Mazda MPV (Michael to his friends), but I will stop in at the local trooper station when I am done here and tell them what happened.  Probably I will not need to file a formal report, but being a responsible and respectable (ahem!) citizen, that is what I think is the thing to do.

Maybe by then the adrenaline spike will have subsided and my vital signs will be back to normal.  Wow–what a rush!

Testing

I have never done this before.  As a rule, I do psychic readings for specific clients.  However, for some reason I felt inspired to get out my trusty pendulum and ask it some questions.  Here, then, are my predictions for 2007.

1.  No nukes from terrorists.  However, the US will experience major attacks from both foreign and domestic (that is, non-Muslim Americans) involving bio;ogical warfare and/or poisoning of food supplies.

2.  New Orleans will be hit by another major storm or hurricane, and once more, the US government will fail to adequately respond.

3.  There will be a major earthquake in Nevada.

Remember–you read it here first!

(PS–I have looked over this confounded new page three times, still haven’t figured out how to recommend a book or video.)