Dead Untold

Yesterday was spent dealing with the aftermath of the weekend – in other words – depression.  The stratospheric high of a weekend house full of family and friends was replaced with the grim reality of a work day and preparing the house for another showing.  My wife went into her normal frenzied cleaning drill while I escaped to the confines of work.  To add insult to injured spirit an Indian Summer day descended in full force after the gloominess of our Monday treks.  It was seventy five degrees and sunny out throughout the day while I was consigned behind my desk.

The Invaders Gathering for the Vacuuming

The heat also had an unintended “benefit” of unleashing a veritable storm of those pesky Chinese lady bugs, the orange ones that stink if you crush them.  This infestation did nothing to quell my wife’s “good” mood amidst her frenzied cleaning efforts.  We get these damned things every couple years and they seem to really like the big window in the family room.  This is beneficial since I can then perch precariously on a ladder while vacuuming them up.

We both needed a break by the end of the vacuuming and I convinced my wife to pause long enough to go see a movie with me.  I took a huge chance by bringing her to see Dracula Untold.  I was selling it as a love story set in the Balkans but I thought she’d abandon me as the first sight of fangs.  She was either too tired or she’ll have to reassess her aversion to horror films because she liked it.

It was a new take on Dracula (if that’s even possible) as Prince Vlad decides to rent the powers of the local vampire for a few days to head off an invading army of Turks.  He can return to human form if he resists “dining” for three days; you all know where that’s headed.  I liked the movie because it was pure escapism which is what my battered spirits needed, no need to think, just enjoy the ride.

I finished John Sandford’s book Deadline on Monday.  Sandford created one of my favorite characters of all time in Lucas Davenport and as Davenport aged he started writing books about one of his underlings in the Minnesota state police – Virgil “F---ing” Flowers.  Flowers is incredibly entertaining and while a superb policeman he’s also a bit of a scamp who seems to stumble upon and attract trouble relentlessly.

Deadline has Virgil playing hooky in southeast Minnesota helping a friend out by investigating a dog snatching ring. Since this is Flowers there’s shortly a murder which leads to political corruption, more murders, and general mayhem.  That’s kind of how Virgil rolls and why he earned his signature middle name.  Sandford has a great touch where he can roll out a gripping police mystery generously laced with humor; a great read.

We returned from the movies to a message from the realtors that the scheduled showing was canceled.  We gave each other a high five but are starting to think the ABFA may be putting hits out on prospective buyers.  At any rate – things are looking up and I get to have lunch with the son today.