Jul 23 2002
Country Weekend, Part II
On Saturday morning, I read the local paper while drinking my coffee to see what was going on in town that day. But I got sidetracked by the police blotter, as always. The paper reports all arrests and so on, and though this may affect the concept of “innocent until proven guilty”, it does make for entertaining reading if it’s not about you:
X was charged with having unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor. His victim is now his wife, though she was not at the time of the incident.
A German Shepherd with a hanky around its neck was roaming around in the bushes behind the McDonald’s fast food restaurant.
An otter was trying to cross the highway. The matter was referred to Fish and Game.
A woman called to report a large pig on her porch which wouldn’t leave.
There are no secrets when you live in a small town.
We went into Mendocino to do some shopping, both necessary and unnecessary. The latter included the ceramic studio, where a hilarious bench was covered with pink ceramic poodles, and a local craft fair, where everyone fawned over Jed the wonder dog.
On the way home, we stopped at Big River to swim and more importantly, so Jed could swim out and fetch the ball. Jed lives for the ball.
We had a barbecue that night, and about ten minutes before everything was ready, Jonathan’s pager went off. He’s a member of the local fire department, which is all volunteers. He went to answer a call reporting smoke down the road, but no fire could be found despite the best efforts of eight firemen searching the neighborhood. Such is the lot of a fireman.