I took Erica, Adrienne's friend, and a totally delightful
little girl home yesterday at Adrienne's request. She is a
Chinese child who has remained a little girl phsically while her class mates have grown up around her. She is certainly
intellectually and emotionally mature. It is amazing to see
the variations in middle school kids. Some of the girls are
using the mall and celebrities as models, a trend I deplore.

Adrienne tells me that her friend Mia is engaged and has the
signed consent of both parents to marry at age l6. Is that
rushing it or what! I was horrified. I am just too old to
see young teens dressing as sluts and rushing in to marriage!

I am going to the Base thrift shop this morning in search
of crystal and unusual items. I got the drapes for our
office/exercise room there last year. People discard a lot
moving around as much as they do and there are things from
all over the world there. It is only open on Tuesday and
Thursday and the proceeds go to help airmen who need it.

I need to rake leaves every day that the weather is good
enough to get out. Our yard is sort of at the end of a
wind tunnel and I get them from everywhere. Our own tree
has those nasty sweetgum balls that have to be picked up
too. I will be glad to have Henry back next summer. He
has a lawn business in the summer and a wood cutting business in the winter and a job driving the city bus at
night.

I read an old mystery novel by Josephine Tey called The
Franchise Affair. It was very good. I am down to reading
whatever is on hand because I don't have time to get to
the library. Ted's appointments with the Dr. take up the
whole morning.

I got groceries at TAFB yesterday and we were stopped leaving the base and had to show our ID before we could
leave. The line was so long that it took me 30 minutes to
get out. I can only wonder what was going on.