Autumn in April

The poplar trees in the park across the street are turning yellow, and their leaves are beginning to fall. The forecast has been the same for about ten days now: today will be ok, tomorrow’s gonna be cold and rainy. But so far, knock wood, tomorrow’s been as nice as yesterday.

It’s been a shame to spend such lovely days in the library, but at least it’s been pleasant walking there and back. And I can’t complain: it’s been wonderful to have the time to work on this and I’m learning a lot. Last week I began to focus on the material for the Property exam, so I’ve been studying the Torrens title registration system, NZ’s Land Transfer Act, and other stuff which wasn’t part of the curriculum where I went to law school.

The ghoulish deathwatch the media’s been keeping, first for Terri Schiavo and then for the pope, would be more appropriate for Halloween. It's finally ended, thank heaven, but apparently the pope hadn’t passed on to his reward in time for yesterday’s NZ Herald. The extra-large type headline screamed:

"BUSH TRAGEDY"

You had to read the story, of course, because it wasn’t what you expected. When we went to bed the night before it was pretty clear that the pope would be history by morning. What did that have to do with President Shrub? But wait, no: a hunter accidentally shot his best mate while stalking deer in the woods.

The folks at the NZ Herald must have thought it was close enough to April Fool’s Day to have some fun with us. And why not, except that they’re amateurs. For the best in foolish headlines, and funny stories to go with them, you don’t have to wait for April 1st - just visit America’s Finest News Source, The Onion.

Cheers,
Sandie