Elephant Day

Saturday was a blue elephant day. I think I may have spoken of the blue elephant before - once, when I was in Germany with a school party, one of them lost their passport and we had to go to the British Embassy to retrieve it. Of course, we had to take the whole seventy of them. We parked not far from the Brandenburger Tor, and two of us went off to get the passport, whilst the other teachers stayed on the bus with the kids.
When we got back, they said they'd seen a blue elephant, and some people had given them free samples of coca cola. All this turned out to be true, they even had a picture of the blue elephant. The sky itself was endlessly blue, and so it all sticks in my mind as a surreal day set against an azure sky.

When I got up on Saturday morning, it was warm and moderately sunny, but snow appeared to be drifting through the sky, twirling and gently falling to earth. It was Cottonwood fluff, and very late in the season to be released.

I had to go to the NEXUS office at the border, and as I drove along H street, speed limit 25mph, a dog appeared and ran along behind the car for a way. It looked well-cared for and had a collar, but there was no owner in tow. Later, as I drove back, it had reached the main road intersection, and was sniffing cars as they stopped at the traffic lights. Impossible for anyone to get out however, without causing an accident.

A road sign read, 'Ped Xing'. Living where we do, and not concentrating, I wondered why there was a Chinese person's name on a road sign, before my brain clicked on again, and I realised it was short for 'Pedestrian Crossing'. It certainly seemed to be nowhere near one.

Another sign, this time by the side of the road, promised 'Camp Wood'. I wouldn't think wood could be particularly camp, but life constantly surprises me.