Mission Possible

We had just returned home from Mission: Impossible when I noticed the oven light was out. Unconcerned about such an easy fix, I fetched the spare bulb and opened the oven. After carefully removing the heatproof glass covering, I twisted the old bulb only to feel it pull away from its base. I cussed and reassessed the situation. 

Because the light is always on, I needed to cut the appliance's power before attempting to remove the broken piece. I moved the stock pots from the rack and lifted the magnetic message board covering the breaker box. Then, I flipped the range switch and pulled out a pair of electrician's pliers. 

The light is on the left side of the oven, and I had to get on my knees and turn my head to reach it with the pliers in my left hand. After failing to get a grip on the rim of the base, I concluded that it was impossible to do the job by feeling alone. 

I sat back on my heels and thought, what would Ethan Hunt and his team do? Inspired, I grabbed my new pair of grippy garden gloves and reached in with a single finger to twist the broken piece from the inside. After a moment of gentle counterclockwise pressure, I felt it turn, and a minute later, it was in the trash. I swiftly installed the new bulb, replaced the cover, and restored power to the stove. 

After resetting the clock and putting away my gear, it was like I was never there. Burnt-out bulb? What burnt-out bulb?

Bombycilla Cedrorum

On a whim, I grabbed my binoculars as I headed out to the second-floor deck to enjoy the beautiful weather. I scanned the trees I could see from my lawn chair and gasped as I zoomed in on the top branches of a sweet gum about 100 yards away. There, preening in the star-shaped leaves and swaying branches was a cedar waxwing, its distinctive mask and tousled crest unmistakable.

I've never seen one around here, although I know this is their range. Their grayish-green color and fondness for feeding in fruit trees make them tough to spot, so I was thrilled to watch this one until it flew away.

Some Splining to Do

The day dawned so fresh and breezy that I just had to throw open the windows and let in the air. As I did, however, I was reminded of a detail it has been easy to ignore for decades, so seldom do we have the windows open. Our screens are original to the house and over 40 years old. Time has not been friendly to them, and they are tattered and torn around the bottom frame. 

Years ago, when we were children, visiting our aunt and uncle in Little Falls, New York, my brother leaned on a screen in an upstairs window and tumbled out onto the roof. He might have rolled off onto the sidewalk below were it not for my Aunt's quick hands. Today, I could picture something similar happening to our cats as they leapt to the sills to enjoy the rare breeze.

Fortunately, I had what I needed to repair the screens: I ordered the tools and supplies a couple of years ago when I replaced the deck slider with pet-resistant Teflon mesh. I'd discovered then that the job is not really that hard, so I decided to fix those old screens then and there. A little over 30 minutes later, the windows were open and secure, and I was feeling quite a sense of accomplishment.

Bloody Well Done

I saw Sinners yesterday with a friend and former colleague. It was really only at his encouragement that I was there at all; in general, I'm not a big fan of horror movies. 

"The vampires are metaphorical," my friend promised. "It's really a movie about racism and the blues. Even though he is considerably younger than I am, we have developed a strong rapport over the last seven years, and we often talk about movies and politics, so I was in.

This particular film has also received quite a bit of good press and even some early Oscar buzz. Directed by Ryan Coogler, who also made Fruitvale Station, Creed, and both Black Panther movies, it has been both a box office success and hailed as one of the best films of the year. 

Despite the vampires and their gore, I really enjoyed the movie. The violence was Tarantino-esque, which is somehow more palatable to me. Michael B. Johnson's performances as both main characters were impressive, and the rest of the cast was great. I loved the musical production, and the set design and costumes were also awesome. 

The movie was quite sexually explicit, though, and seeing it with me may have made my friend a bit uncomfortable. "This is a very adult movie," he whispered a little apologetically during one racy scene.

"Fortunately, we're both adults," I whispered back.

Dismissed

I was waiting for my friend outside the movie theater at Courthouse Plaza when a guy walked by, talking loudly on his phone. "I was so close!" he said. "I actually made it into the room."

I idly wondered what he was talking about. Was it a raise?  A promotion? A job interview? None of those scenarios really fit, but then he was out of earshot, so I stopped thinking about it. 

A minute later, he paced by in the opposite direction, obviously still on the call. "I answered all the questions," he lamented. "I know I had the right attitude."

I still couldn't imagine what he was so worked up about.

"I would have made such a great juror!" he added.

Bingo! 

Practical Application

"Ugh! Why is it raining?" one student said to another today.

"We're literally studying weather!" his friend replied. "Figure it out!"

It Wasn't Horseshoes

"Who's that on your wallpaper?" I asked a student this morning.

"It's just a K-pop singer," she shrugged.

"Is it Rosé?" I said.

"You know her?" she replied in surprise.

"Oh sure," I waved my hand. "Toxic 'til the End, APT, and she's in Blackpink with Jennie and Lisa, right?"

"And who else?" she asked suspiciously.

"Um... I don't know," I admitted. "Who?"

"Jisoo!" she sighed, then shook her head in mild disgust and went back to work.