Back to the plant: the pod seems familiar but the bloom just doesn’t register. I am going to feel funny when you tell me this is a plant I should know. Oh well, if I am becoming more forgetful it is just another sign of getting old (maybe getting old but still frisky).

Oh, those pods are so familiar, I can feel them in my mind, between my fingers; the texture, the response when you gently squeeze; maybe a similar pod, with black seeds; maybe something entirely different. Such a strange recall.

Well, in any event, whenever I go to the Cajun Kitchen for carry-out and she is not with me the chef always asks about her. We have become casual friends and he will often come out from the back and take our laughter-injected order himself. His English has an oriental flavor which I don’t do justice to in the following rendition of the latest exchange; which could have been exactly like this:

Me: You let her go out-of-town! Again!

He: Not me. You!

Me: Did you tell her not to go?

He: Did you?

Me: I am not stupid.

He: I am not stupid either.

Pregnant pause.

Me: I guess I need to find a new friend, a stupid one.

Laughter all around.

“On The Border” in Jackson serves delicious food and an art adventure.