Tag: writing

Acorns

A squirrel eating an acorn in front of a tree.
Image: Jennifer

Today’s word is “acorn.” I cannot think of acorns without also thinking of squirrels. I love the little critters—their personalities, their tiny, nimble hands and feet, the way they focus so intently on whatever they’re doing. The ones who live on the property are an endless source of entertainment, scampering about, chasing each other and the Crows, and sometimes just chilling on a branch watching people go by. They have their lives and their dramas, and quite frankly, I think they’re underrated.

Embers

Lava rocks, with a haiku that says "once aflame, ardent heart, now embers."
Image: Pablo Martinez Words: Me

(Today’s word is “ember.” I like to write haiku, and I try to keep it as spare as possible. I also like to find photos to go with them and show the work of photographers on sites like Unsplash. Check out Pablo Martinez’s portfolio. He has some cute photos of a bunny!)

Witness to Stupidity

Many moons ago I dated a D.C. cop, and he used to say that only the stupid criminals get caught. Today I saw proof of that with my own eyes.

While on a walk through one of the District’s wealthier and more quiet neighborhoods, I witnessed a thug getting ready to break into someone’s house. He had climbed up the front of the building—yes, the front, in broad daylight—but apparently he was too much of a klutz to manage it and was dangling by one hand from a second-story window ledge. Truth be told, I might not have noticed him had he not let out an aggravated cuss.

At first I thought it was an attempted robbery, but he didn’t have a sack or backpack slung over his shoulder to suggest that he was about to make off with someone’s hard-earned valuables. All he carried was a large butcher knife.

Oh, this isn’t good, I thought. Not good at all.

Then I saw the dog. This numbnut had brought his dog with him to keep watch while he broke in. It was a mean creature, snarling and crouching as though ready to leap forward and rip open the throat of the first person who chanced by, like me.

Fortunately I was across the street and downwind from this ridiculous crime in progress, and rather than get mauled and quite possibly eaten alive, I ducked behind a car and took a few photos. I couldn’t get the guy’s face, though. He hung facing the house, unable to pull himself up to the window but unwilling to let go of the ledge and drop to the porch.

Come on, look over your shoulder. Show me your face.

No luck. This guy was quite frankly an idiot and very obviously stuck, so I punched in 911. It took the police five minutes to arrive, and you’d think that by then the guy would have just let go and fled. Nope. Only the dog had that much sense, running off into some nearby woods when the black-and-white pulled up. The perp hung there until the police helped him down and arrested him.

Yep, only the dumb ones get caught. Here he is:

And now for today’s candy: KitKats! I love these things, maybe a little too much.

Except I probably wouldn’t love these next ones. Orange? Ye gods, I hope they aren’t pumpkin-flavored. That would be a sacrilege.