July 14, 2003
the nutmeg state
I went to visit the GirlWithTheHair. We saw each other for the first time in about three years. She still has TheHair. It's lovely.
I was babbling about something (shocking!) and out comes, "Which one is the nutmeg state?" She looks at me wit something close to an awed horror. I know she was thinking, "I wish just this thing had changed. The goddamned obsession with odd bits of information. Ah well, here we go." She didn't really have that look. It just seems as though it would be more dramatic that way.
So we both had no idea which was the nutmeg state. Thus, we went for a walk and bought sunglasses to forget our nutmeg troubles. But first, I bought a pack of cigarettes to thank the gods of the Pacific Northwest for letting me get there in one piece and for old times when we thought we were naughty, fiery women. Now that we know that we're naughty, fiery women, it's mostly for old time's sake and to thank the gods. Those roads from Portland to Seattle are very bendy.
At home, here in the place that is neither Pacific nor Northwest, I looked up the nutmeg state. It's Connecticut. It's the unofficial name. Officially it's the Constitution State. This is a different constitution than the one I know, but hey, it sounds good right? And why stop there when you can have a sperm whale for your state animal, too? 
I just looked up New York State symbols and junk. Our beverage, yes beverage, is milk. Our muffin, did I say muffin? I did. Our muffin is apple. It goes nicely with our state fruit of apple. We could top it all off with some maple syrup which comes from the state tree--the sugar maple!
The GirlWithTheHair and I had a lovely time. We walked to the street called Broadway in Seattle. I saw a man in his sixties who had taken off his shirt and had a nipple ring. It was gross. I saw a young man on the street in a pale blue vinyl coat who said he was getting quite warm in the mid-day sun. People would pass by and we would look at each other with our patent-pending raised eyebrow.
We were happy. It was sunny. All was well.
And it still is well. Although I'm sleepy and twisted my neck funny on the plane (I sat next to a nun.I shall have to tell you about that one day.)
I'm glad I went to the great west. I've never seen so much water just flowing all over the place--drinking fountains, regular fountains, water features, faux streams--as in Portland.
In fact, there were a number of beaver sculptures in those fountains. And do you know what? The beaver is Oregon's state animal!
But here's the stranger part. The beaver is New York's, too!
