Phone call this morning with my brother H about his recent business trip to the High Desert down South, doing his training thing at China Lake. To describe an old craft object, he used a term I hadn't heard in a long time: "Masonite" (a kind of processed wood panel common in the 50's & 60's - dark brown, very smooth on one side, dense waffle-grid fuzzy yellow-tan on the other). Also spoke with his wife S briefly/initially. Evening, short chat with D - more signs of improvement in relations with G.

As I approached the gym I couldn't help but notice the massive tail of a C-5 behind the big airship hanger <1>. Usually the only planes out there are these (much smaller in comparison) four-engined P-3 "Orion" propeller aircraft which I've heard do routine "submarine chasing". After working out I drove over to the edge of the airfield and saw there were actually three C-5s, in a row. The closest had "TRAVIS" and a yellow horizontal strip on its tail, the other two's stripes were green. I once endured the crowds at Armed Forces Day on Andrews Air Force Base (outside DC) just to get up close to a C-5 - we could actually walk through that one, with its nose up and its rear ramp down. A C-17 was there too; and it was neat, as was the B-1; but the C-5's the biggest. Not quite the size of the Spruce Goose, but larger than a 747.

Today's film was "Ma Vie En Rose" <2> , the Belgian (Walloon) film about a little boy who wants to be a girl. Obvious similarities to/with "My Life As A Dog" could be discussed. Where'd they find the kid? His androgyny was extreme. And his mother got so angry with him! Post-film thoughts included wondering about the divergence of the transvestite and homosexual communities; why male cross dressers are so rare; and sadness that Belgium could appear so hopelessly suburban. I wasn't quite interested when this film came out; but B thought I'd like it so when I noticed it was still playing at a Berkeley cinema (the "Elmwood" - it was nice) during my swing through that district last weekend... Coming back over the Bay Bridge I was trying to recall details of the triumphal entry made this way 22½ years ago by T and me in his '65 VW bug, having just driven it across from Ontario.