Why do people use water soluble ink on mail?  This is a thought I had over and over today as I strained to read an address on an envelope even as the ink dissolved and ran like tears down a coal miner's face.  Another thought that I had was whether or not my supervisor would believe that it rained all day.  I know that it never rains where he keeps his head.
     I am an old man on days like this, walking slow, head down.  On days like this I am just slogging through, doggedly doing it on autopilot, for the money alone.  Wet hands, cold face, gray sky; melancholy grows like mold in these perfect conditions.  The mind requires cheering up, so I think of poetry and art and love and the mysteriousness of existence.  Or I think of movies.
     Last night I watched a movie that was made when I was an infant ( that is a very old movie).  "Rebel Without A Cause" starring James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, Dennis Hopper, Nick Adams, et al.   A classic piece of American cinema, very dated now, but edgy, even shocking, in it's day.  I have seen all or parts of this film many, many times, but the plot always seemed vague in my memory.  Last night I realized that I wasn't paying close attention to the story because I was fascinated (as always?) by Sal Mineo's angelic countenance.  Such a beautiful man; such a tragic end.
     It turns out that I was not the only one mesmerized by Sal Mineo's face.  My wife, Vangie, also has a crush on him.  We often go for the same guy, and that's not a bad thing.  Of course, it's too bad that the objects of our mutual attractions are (usually) unavailable for some reason.  Sometimes they are dead.  Sometimes they are fictional characters.  Sometimes they are homophobic, or gynephobic.  Or they hate triangles (the fools!)  Lately they mostly seem too young for a couple of ancient voyagers like me and the Cannibal Queen.  Though the dream is old, the dreamer never dies; much is lost, yet much remains. 
      The cold rain is still falling but I am safe and warm, in the last homely house.  I shall make love and then tomorrow is another day.