Finding The Beauty In The Mundane

A couple of quirky occurrences that broke up the monotony of otherwise uneventful days this past summer:

*  Before I left for Trinidad I was living in what one would call an 'urban' city.

Women sold themselves for money at the end of my street.

So imagine my surprise when, a few days after the death of The King of Pop, I pulled into the driveway of my urban apartment and heard, coming from my neighbor's car-littered, dog-barking, Spanish-music-blaring backyard, the strains of ... Billie Jean.

Now, whatever your (or my) feelings about Michael Jackson, you have to love a moment like that.  Hearing Billie Jean coming from that house was just ... everything.  It was touching, it was endearing, it was completely incongruous ... it was perfect.  Billie Jean is one of my less favorite Michael Jackson songs, but that night I sat in my car listening to, and loving, every note of it.

*  One day I was in a CVS getting my passport photo taken in preparation for the big trip.  While I was in line I saw a woman coming towards me with a mini-doberman in her handbag.  Now, I have no love for mini-dogs.  They're too breakable.  I like my dogs pony-sized and easy to wrestle with.  But I have even less love for the women who treat these dogs as accessories and carry them around in their purses.

This day, however, I found myself in love with both the dog and its owner.  What I saw coming towards me this day was a woman carrying a tiny dog in her purse, yes, but what made this duo different was that this dog was wearing what looked to be a Shriner's cap - made out of a dixie cup.

If you asked me at that moment, I would've told you that I'd never seen anything funnier in my life.

Never ever.