New York

Well, we're off to New York. We fly out tonight and land in the city tomorrow morning. I'm trying to arrange a meeting with a friend named Tim and his wife, Ellen for Saturday night. I "met" Tim over the internet some 3 or 4 years ago and am looking forward to meeting him in person.

Our friend, Kris, is watching the house and the cats. Our neighbors are keeping an eye on the place as well - a couple have keys in case anything suspicious is going on. It's amusing to me how everyone is so concerned about crime here. The level of crime in our small town is so low compared to Seattle which was minuscule compared to my old haunts in Detroit. I find that I am sometimes too lax about it, like I am when I visit my grandparent's farm in southern Indiana. Still, it's nice to know that the neighbors have their eye on the place. It feels good and comfortable and like a community. Kris deserves big props for watching the cats...though I doubt that she will see them much, if at all.

Shawn has a conference to attend for work while in NYC. It's a cataloging conference which will also benefit her for school. We're taking her notebook along so she can work on school stuff while away. We'll enjoy some time together this weekend and on the week nights. I'll get Monday and Tuesday to wander around and amuse myself. Shawn will join me for more of that on Wednesday before we head back home that evening. I've been informed by both Shawn and her grandmother that I am to take the camera around and take lots of pictures. We'll see. I'm not much for doing that generally and usually leave it up to Shawn. If I do take some pix, I'll post them here when I recover from the trip and work (work is supposed to have a big order waiting for me when I return).