before pumpkin (BP) we moved to jersey from brooklyn. the omens didn't improve:
driving a UHaul into town, a bird flew across an oncoming car and shredded through the grill.
on consecutive mornings packs of big flies coated the southeast corner of the house. sprayed with a hose they stayed right where they were.
our cat ignored the omens and found the suburbs much to his liking. william, the kaiser, roamed his fiefdom at will, bestowing purrs and tail wags at his leisure. he tightroped fences, dodged dogs, presented us with a chipmunk for a royal feast, respectfully declined. he pondered the living history of sunny patches, and let it be known by royal decree that as the kaiser willed it, so it should be warm and bright. but he always came back. then one day he did not. or the next. or the next.
such were the portents, but the pumpkin would not to be denied. dear reader, etch his birth date in the nearest tree in a generous-sized heart: 7 - 31 -2008.
let us offer each other some sign of peace.
