caramba

the title track. bennie maupin what what what. listening to him, and his sound, makes me want to experiment with hard rubber mouthpieces again.

this morning as i was riding along packard i saw a black cat dart into the street about 50-75 feet ahead. okay so no big deal, but then i hear the guy in the nearby u-m plant operations pickup truck step on the gas, and bear down on the cat as it made its way (safely, as it turned out) across the street. and i thought, what a jerk. so i began to think of what to say and/or do if i happened to catch up to him, a pithy comment or an ugly stare or some more virulent form of invective, and sure enough the red light at hill street stopped him, and he put on his blinker to turn left (which meant, of course, that the cars behind him began to ooze into the bike lane), and once the light turned green and i went past the open passenger-side window, i looked in at the two guys and called out "so you like cats, do ya?" and i heard someone in there cackle.

so here's what i think was going on: the driver was showing off to his pal, possibly some inside joke about cats, and felt like he was in control enough that there was no real risk of him hitting the cat; it was a lark. not something i would have done, nor would i admire in anyone else, but that's why i think my unrehearsed comment was spot on (for once). it made the guy laugh, it was ambiguous as to judgment on my part, but it at least planted the notion in the guy's head that people are watching. i think there's an awful lot of ill goings-on out there that takes place simply because a lot of people don't think anybody else is watching, or cares, or whatever. so i know better than to impose my own morality on strangers, but i do think it's good to let them know i'm paying attention. there is nothing wrong with paying attention to what is happening around you. it may even actually be helpful.

you read it here: start paying attention to what is happening around you, it could be helpful.