Ring Cycle II

I begged off from the family for Wednesday afternoon, rode the monorail downtown, wandered around Pike Street Market. Sort of weird, felt right at home as the morning fog burned off. Sure as can be, some guy with an accent [British?> asks me for directions. “Sorry, I ain’t from around here.” Shopping, I came across a perfect pair of earrings for my redheaded Jimmy Buffet Capricorn friend, and when I was buying them, I asked about the sales tax, “These are going out of state, I shouldn’t have to pay tax, right?” “Which state?” “Texas.” “Sorry, Texas collects taxes, too,” the vendor said. “And just because I’m from Texas doesn’t mean I voted for him,” I replied. “Oh I could tell by the long hair and the gentle countenance you wouldn’t have voted for him.” Not much later, I was buying Ma Wetzel a cup of coffee at Caffe Vita and relating that story to her, when the person behind the counter kept chuckling. Ma Wetzel, in her Scorpio tone, suggested that we not discuss politics or religion. The counter person replied, “This is Seattle, we always discuss politics.” I think I like this place — out here on the Left Coast. Then there’s the family, but you just have to love this branch of the family tree, I feel positively normal around here. And they’re all fun. “Got beef jerky?”