a toast to oxford

tonight the committee to make oxford fun convened at oxford's inaugural wine tasting and art festival. when i first arrived here last summer, two women i practice yoga with told me about their service to the university -- their work on the committee to make oxford fun. they have never met and never really did anything. it was all just a joke. i have taken it on. seriously. i may even be the chairperson of the committee. i have been badgering young oxford to get it together and step up the social life. i really rallied many people to go along to the wine tasting. the tasting featured all ohio wineries and local artists peddling their wares in local merchants' shops. i was underwhelmed with the wines but it was a great and pleasant evening out. i did not check out the art scene in earnest.

one of my senior colleagues, susan hosted a mess of her neighbors at her place first, a sort of pregame cocktail hour before the festival. i went along and in so doing, i returned to the scene of crime --- back to the neighborhood where my car was rearended. all the neighbors were super curious about the condition of the vehicle and they really wanted the update. they walked uptown to the parks and i followed to meet them and young oxford at the festival. i had suggested meeting at a particular corner by a bank at an appointed time. by the time i arrived, there was a table, a chair and a clipboard paper and pencil at the spot. i pretended to check young oxford in for our committee work. it was a really pleasant evening. we laughed a lot and made lots of silly funny wine talk. the people mixed well. i was really pleased. as the evening wound down, a smaller group of us got slices of pizza and hung around making talk about pets and mel's training of the dogs of the environs . i know a significant population of oxford -- children through the market and dogs through mel. it amuses my pals. as couples walk down the street, they engage me either because i play with their children at the market or i recognize their dogs from mel's lessons. tonight joy and her husband blake had the puppy, oxford, out for a stroll after their shift volunteering at the festival. we chatted and observed young oxford's good behavior.

we separated and ended the evening before going out to hear my student's band at the local bar.

i drove back to college corner carefully observing the speed limit. the corn fields looked dark dark black. but i wasn't scared by the rows! and the big big sky looked that beautiful blue just post twilight. the fireflies twinkled. on the horizon, i could see single fireworks bursting boldly in the nighttime sky. it was lovely.

as i pulled into college corner and turned into my parking pad, i noticed three shirtless teenaged boys sharing a smoke on my front porch under the light. i surprised them. as i toddled out of the suv-ette, they slunk off. as they did, i heard cheers in the distance. i figured that an unspecified audience was oohing and ahhhing over the fireworks. i reckoned that my neighbors, grandmas' fireworks must be doing an a-okay with their business...all these fireworks the week before the fourth! i climbed the stairs and waded through my huge mildly humid loft. as i drew my bath, i heard even louder cheers come from the back of the property. only then did i remember, tonight is UFI cage fight night in CC round the way at the bar.

this is my life.