Today's "outing" had Car Inspection at the top of the list. I won't say I was past due by much, but renewal was due in October. Of last year. Of course, back in October the question of whether inspection stations were open was valid. I was too busy to bother, and time just went on. So today I took myself to a little place I've been to before and I now have a valid inspection sticker. Inspection is really sort of a joke--headlights are checked, taillights are checked, and the horn. The car ahead of me had a backup light out, but the driver got her sticker anyway. One place I've been to in the past didn't do any of that--just took the $10 and put on the new sticker. Of course, it was a repairman, and he might have done a "real" inspection on cars that weren't his customers. Today's inspection station had about four feet of water from Katrina. He had pictures of it, and he had pictures of the previous record-setter--the May 1995 storm that dumped 24 inches of water on the town in less than 24 hours.

Today was another post-hip "first"--I went to Arby's for lunch. When I have a late lunch there I can have just a light supper. That habit over the past year has helped with that 20 lb. loss, I'm sure.

Bad Cat managed to streak out the door as I was leaving for my afternoon errands. I didn't see her when I came back home, and when I called "here kitty kitty" there was no sign of her. But when I stuck my head out the door and yelled "if you don't get in here right now the other cats will eat up all the wet food" she materialized and came right in. Guess she understands English.

I had a very interesting e-mail today from someone looking for a picture of Frances Joseph Gaudet. Gaudet (probably born a slave) was a 1900ish reformer and educator in New Orleans. She was president of the Louisiana WCTU and a delegate to the international convention in Scotland around 1905.

I did a paper on her in a Women's History seminar when I was at Tulane, and in the course of my research I was directed to someone doing a collection of bios about 500 Notable Black American Women. The Gaudet paper ended up being my first (and only) publication. I also did a talk on her at the New Orleans Public Library last spring.

I guess not many people have written much about her, because this woman looking for the photograph (for a 5th grade Social Studies book about Louisiana) said my name came up repeatedly on her search for stuff about Gaudet. Wow. Nice to know I'm a sort of mini-expert on a relatively obscure person.

(My car is also "legal" once again.)