We got back from Wichita about 18:30 or so, after spending a little time with Karens' mom Betty. From the short time that we spent with her (she was tired, and so was Karen) her condition seemed to me to have degenerated some. We started the day off by getting up at 09:00; I made the first pot of coffee... they had a three-cup coffeemaker in the room, with one pack of decaff and another of regular... we started off with the regular, of course... and then we got ready to go and checked out. Chuck and Judy had gone to visit Betty, and they had to leave for their flight(s) back to Baton Rouge at 12:15, so we visited for a while and took some group pictures. I only got one with me in it, displayed on this page, click the little one to get a big one, of course. It was somewhat sad saying goodbye to Chuck and Judy, I enjoy their company more every time that I see them. Well, maybe we'll get a picture. Network problems, dammit, I can't see the laptop on the network for some stupid reason. Incidental note: I've bought and installed a guestbook. Use it wisely. Or not, what the hell do I know about wise anyhoo? Today's theme: Darkness. I love it. I love the night sky, I do. And I love the night in general. I've never really found a pair of sunglasses that will not allow me to see the harsh reality of this world. I really started liking darkness when I was about eleven, really... when Mom helped me make a darkroom in the house at 1730 Park Street in Enid. I've got an eye for detail, and a memory for detail. Show me something in a lit room, and I will be quite OK in the dark. I count my steps, measure my reach, search my memory, as I would imagine that a blind person would. I have spent a good part of my life in darkrooms, and I can do just as well with the lights completely off as I can with a safelight. However, my night vision is also very good, or at least it used to be. And I just totally *don't* understand peoples' aversion to the dark. One of my fishing buddies, Doug, would festoon the campsite with several lanterns, and leave them burning all night long. They would, of course, attract millions of bugs, and I got to where I hated going camping with him. He could afford, I guess, to forego the night sky. I cannot... at least, not willingly. I yearn for a house on the prairie, miles and miles from the nearest neighbor. I need the stars... they comfort me, and center me, and make me think. People all over the world are burning lights all night, and all out of fear. Fear of people like me, who do not fear the dark, either of the physical world or of the psyche. And tomorrow, I will talk of the Readers' Digest article from last month, which promises scientific evidence for the existance of the soul. Heh.