I shot a man in Reno. . .

I just got back from celebrating Big Daddy Cash's 90th birthday in a land called Tennessee. It was a riot! No really, Covington played Brighton in the local football game and there was a mini riot consisting of old men punching each other in the parking lot and one shotgun fatality. Other than that, I spent all weekend encouraging Big Daddy to eat dessert first, which he is happy to oblige. It is a practice that I indulge in at 27, and you can bet your britches (look ma, I got my hick speak back!) I will do it when I am 90. He and Mimi were so sweet on each other. They may not always know where they are going, but they know they are going to go there together. I especially enjoyed Mimi watching TV. . .

Mimi: "Heather, who is that colored boy on the TV?"
Heather: "That is Michael Jordan, the greatest basketball player of all time and a multimillionaire."
Mimi: "I thought that was who that was."

Other successful accomplishments for the weekend include convincing Nanny (my Dad's mom) to be made into a diamond when she dies and, being the only cousin of reproductive age without children, staying far away from the tiny terrors.

The weeks before that I have been in Colorado hiking, cutting oak brush, and riding 4-wheelers (I was born to race) with my Dad. Mom would be on one side of the house feeding squirrels and Dad would be on the other shooting chipmunks with a pellet gun. Mom won't let him use the shotgun around the house anymore. They are, after all, civilized people.
We had a 5/6 day hike on the Continental Divide trail planned, but after 2 days one of our traveling companions became very sick. David had a kidney stone which made him vomit and he couldn't keep any fluids down, so we bailed out early. The bail out wasn't the easiest thing, about 11 miles and a 3,000 ft change in elevation, all with some extra pack weight to try and help the rescue attempt. David did make it the whole way under his own power and pure will. He then got to a hospital for treatment of dehydration and kidney stones. All very exciting, except to him.

I am now off to Africa and won't be back until October 11th. I have already started taking my hallucinogenic Malaria medicine. The non-hallucinogenic stuff is 4 times more expensive, so I figured a cheap trip was worthwhile. I have had some crazy dreams including a romp with guinea pigs that I genetically engineered in my evil laboratory to have eyelashes like javelins sticking straight out of their heads and fending off lions with a car door. They say the dreams get worse the longer you take the meds. . .I got enough for 23 weeks!