Pollen is in the air, which can only mean that there are more outdoor activities going on these days. Among these activities is the Midtown favorite: the Outdoor Patio Challenge. The object of the game is to see how many people can fit on an outdoor dining patio for lunch. The restaurant that can fit more people per square foot of patio space wins the Golden Trendy Award. Last year’s winner: Willy’s at 12th and Piedmont. This year, it looks like Joe’s on Juniper will set a new record of 1.35 ppl/ft².

Holly recently fed her cat Sophie some tuna. Sophie went beserk over the prospect of eating such a yummy delight. My cat George, meanwhile, doesn’t seem to like tuna. In fact, he never seems to want to eat anything at all. But at least George is easier to take care of.

Meanwhile, in more serious news, I’m still in a cast from last December’s bike spill. Unfortunately, the healing of a nondisplaced scaphoid wrist fracture can be unpredictable. There’s no way to measure whether blood is still flowing to the bone. Without blood flow, the wrist can’t heal itself. If I wait too long, the doctor could declare a non-union, which could mean a more involved surgery than I would normally have, had I chosen to have the surgery back in January. This coming Tuesday, I’ll be heading back to the doctor’s office once again to see if any healing has taken place. If not, this will probably be my last best chance to opt for surgery.

Two lessons for bike riding in the future:

• Watch out for wet leaves on the ground, especially when trying to make a turn.
• Always wear your gloves. They can protect your hand in case you try to make a turn while there’s a pile of wet leaves on the ground.

And finally… last week, I went to Orlando for a conference. I met other people who work in performing arts service organizations. We learned from one another and got to check out downtown Orlando, which I’ll talk about more in a future post.