Too Fast

IT IS difficult to photograph a kitten, much less a black kitten. Orion only sits still when she's napping, so most of my existing photos of her are close-ups of her chest (sniffing the camera), snapshots of her tail (as she zooms away to play in some other corner o the house, or photos of the empty spaces she has left. Focusing the light meter of her also automatically causes my camera to use its flash. I don't like this. Available light photography often isn't enough.

But I try to enjoy Orion's kittenhood as much as I can. Maybe when she's older and a little less frisky, I'll have more portraits of her. She's such a beautiful kitten too. I once wrote a children's story about an intelligent black kitten, and now I have one :)

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Almost was in a car accident several days ago. I was driving along Superior Street downtown. In a snowstorm. On unplowed streets. Just doing 25 mph. Then this car suddendly cuts in on me from the left. Good thing the four-wheel drive was engaged. Good thing I wasn't driving too fast. You can't really stop as abruptly as you can on snowy, slushy streets. So I skidded a few feet, almost hitting the a______'s car, as well as a truck parked on the side of the street to my right. I wasn't worried it was going to be a really bad accident because I wasn't going too fast. But I was sure I would hit both cars and would have to call 911. But I didn't. I almost could not believe that I didn't. Relieved, I kept on driving, the a______'s car also moving slowly in front of me. I hit the horn to let him or her know "that was a close call you a______ and it better not happen again", but I slowed down to keep at least 15 feet between me and his car. The car behind me was doing the same thing.

I remember memorizing his plate number. I remember remembering he (it could have been a she) had come from the direction of the casino. Could be a drunk. Could be an senior citizen with poor eyesight, and who should not be driving. COuld be a person who has gambled away his life savings. Whatever he or she is, he's not the only drunk/irresponsible/reckless driver out there. Suddenly, all those "Don't Drink and Drive" ads are now more relevant to my life. Even if one tries to drive as safely as possible, one can get killed by a moron behind the wheels.