Mom pulled up into the driveway, followed by her indulgent but adorable cat, Moonbeam; he mowled in his usual V4 Siamese car engine voice. I could hear her picking him up and cuddling him. She walked through the door, purse slung over one shoulder and the cat on the other.

She smiled at him and asked, "D'ya wanna go with to Jack n' the Box? Hmm? Is that what you want?" Moon likes being driven in cars and enjoys the fast food place's egg rolls; he really is my mother's cat.

At this point she looked over at me from the hallway. I smiled and asked if I could go as I was. We giggle as I slipped on sandals and tightened the cinch of my bathrobe. The cat in tow, we briskly moved to her crampt truck and settled in.

I grabbed a blanket from in back and settled it on my lap, scratching Moon's head for a few minutes as his claws dug down. Normally cats freak out in cars, but not Moon: when we got going he put his forepaws on the dashboard and looked around everywhere, back legs jangling to and fro. Mom said he usually had to fully stretch up to the dash and that he probably appreciated my being a suitable paperweight.

When we pulled up to the window to get our things, the fast food woman was oblivious at first. Moon rearranged himself so he was looking at the drive-thru window. Her eyes met his. "Hmm, never seen that before," she smiled. I don't know if she ever saw me or my stroking the cat and feeding it an egg roll, but I can hope it sunk in later. Moon tried to drive the steering wheel, but Mom wasn't in the mood.

Later in the morning I decided to do some photography again (which should almost be done loading). People always seem unusually curious about a man in a black trenchcoat and a fedora strolling around at 2am. This paranoia seems silly to me, considering we have more synagogues than churches in the area. Ever since my last near misdemeanor, though, I've been more cautious. So, without further ado...

"Predisposed". A random chair in an abandoned school.

"Tutelage". The chair is quietly awed by the wisdom of the fluroescent light.

Three lights guarding boarded up classrooms.

12 cars and 7 shots later, a lantern brings out the flowery vines nearby.

Leafless canopy lit by orange limelight.

Spirit of the season bush decoration.

Small lights against boganvia and bush.

Over the railing and into the L.A. River or a zoo cage for rampant oak tree branches. You decide.

Also, I'm on the verge of beating a computer game called "Gothic". It's consumed most of my time for the past 4 days. I'll give a shot at being productive afterwards.

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