Poem for Tuesday and Cumberland Hospital

asameshi wo kami ni soyo-soyo neko
By Kobayashi Issa
Translated by David Lanoue

breakfast rice
stuck in his whiskers...
lover cat in a rush

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Paul and I got to take a lovely two-hour drive out to scenic Cumberland, Maryland through the gorgeous Appalachian Mountains on a clear, cool August day! Unfortunately, this was not at all on our agenda for Monday, but occurred because Adam -- who was on an orientation kayaking trip a.k.a. "Turtle Camp" for the University of Maryland -- fell out of the tree he climbed at lunch, broke his wrist, and was taken by ambulance to the Western Maryland Regional Medical Center. He needs surgery to put screws in the radius bone, and he is supposed to move into his dorm on Thursday, so the next couple of days will be extremely complicated for him and me both.


The beautiful Allegheny Mountains on the way to Cumberland.


The exposed rock strata of Sideling Hill.


Adam, still wearing his kayaking clothes, waiting for us to get his prescriptions so we could take him home.


Post-sunset sky in Washington County.

Adam is home now after our equally scenic two-hour drive home past Sideling Hill, the exposed rock strata full of fossil records, sleeping under the influence of painkillers so we can get up very early and see the orthopedist whom we are hoping can do the surgery on Tuesday. Needless to say I am quite distracted and disorganized -- we didn't eat dinner till 9 p.m. -- so the only things I have to say about the Emmys are that I am delighted for Allison Janney, pleased for the Sherlock actors, and the best line of the night belonged to Andy Samberg, playing Joffrey from Game of Thrones, asking Lena Headey, "Why don't you love me like you love Uncle Jamie?"