Update From the Wolf Den: Just Who is Strange, Here?

Countdown two days....As is becoming status quo before a trip down to Utah, I am sorting clothing, packing shoes (I like shoes), and stuffing interesting photos, books, and newspaper clippings into a folder for Wolf to read. And I have a long way to go.

Perhaps I am less enthusiastic about this trip because I am learning that there is much chaos accompanying such journeys. Yukon was to have joined me, but some leave and travel arrangement snafus left us looking at $700 one way for airline tickets. I decided for both of us; no way. So I go solo, which should turn out fine, but I will miss my added bonus person.

We always give the neighbors a heads up when one of us goes out of town; it is an added bonus living in a place where people care about who is going where and why. One particular neighbor over the North fence always asks about Wolf in a peculiar sort of way that is detached but still interested. But I don't tell everybody everything, so in fairness some of that detachment is probably due to not having all the information...

At any rate, our conversation took an interesting turn when he said, shaking his head "Yes, he's a nice kid, but always so strange..."

Speechless, I leaned my arms on the fence and thought about how to respond to this statement of my son's reality. The definition of strange is "departing from what is ordinary, usual, or expected".

But wait a second! Aren't we encouraged to be individuals, out-of-the-box, unique? "Expect the unexpected", "Step over the line", yada yada...

My neighbor and I stared at each other for a beat. Then I fired back.

"You know, I bet he thinks we are pretty boring, being so ordinary."

My neighbor hooked his thumbs into the straps of his overalls, leaned back, and scratched his bristly chin. Then he smiled and went back to raking up dead grass.

With a thoughtful expression.