Tuesday, Jul. 08, 2003 - 2:59 pm
Um... I'm sorry.
This relationship just isn't working for me.
I'm at www.dailypreciousness.org now. So change that bookmark.
I got an eyeful of fireworks Sunday night. It was a happy July the sixth for everybody on the boardwalk that evening. After a perfect dinner of artichoke and three-cheese enchiladas, I was relaxed and up-tempo.
Henry held my hand sweetly while we watched the exploding shapes in the sky. Red and green Saturns and golden willow shapes were my favorites. They shimmered over the gathering. One even resembled a glowing acrobat flying through the sky above the crowd.
In a bit of Baywatch-inspired subplot, Henry and I overheard the lifeguard station's police radio amid the piped-in music. "Be advised, be advised," it warned in a tinny, warbled tone, "that there is a severe thunderstorm warning in the DelMarVa area. (That, Henry explained later, is special lifeguard code for "Delaware/Maryland/Virginia." Special, eh?)
Henry let me read his copy of the fifth Harry Potter book. It was a great page-turner. Rowling has lured us into her spectacular word of magic again. This time, though, she threw in a political twist. Harry's life has become increasingly more shadowy and ill-defined. Shades of gray replace his previously black-and-white views of good and evil. Interestingly, a few allusions to current political crises can be seen in the plot. One aspect of this that I saw (perhaps it was just my own bias) was in the new Dark Arts professor. In an age of increased Homeland Security, the kids at Hogwarts have to learn to cope with a kleptocratic authoritarian rule. Ms. Umbridge seizes control with evil intent, doubting the wise wizard Dumbledore.
Hogwarts has become very security-conscious. The communications and transportation lines are all being monitored. All dissenters to the current regime will be dealt with harshly. Frighteningly realistic, if you ask me.
All of the book's fantastic images swirled through my head that night. I snapped a few pictures, too, of the fireworks display. The balmy beachside temperatures made for great sleeping weather. Henry and I intertwined, like vines, as we fell asleep.
With the stormy skies and the imagery in my head, it felt like I was dozing in Hogsmeade, Delaware.
