I Love Hugh Laurie

I saw a dead squirrel in Harvard Square the other day. This in and of itself is not particularly remarkable as I've seen many dead squirrels in my lifetime and even witnessed the killing of a few. But this squirrel was different. It was at the bottom of a tree, on its side, as if it had just fallen out of the tree and made a not so graceful landing. It's eyes were open, it had no visible wounds, I walked very close and could only tell it was dead because it wasn't breathing. Do squirrels really die from falling out of trees sometimes? Or perhaps this squirrel died in the tree and then fell? I've been watching a lot of episodes of the TV show "House." If I were on the show, I would want to figure out how the squirrel died. Of course, on the show, nothing turns out to be simple or straightforward, all the illnesses are rare, bizarre, unexpected. I think the show's emphasis on seeing everything as a potential symptom of illness has made me look at things differently this week. On the bus and the T, I've been noticing cuts and rashes on people, subtle ticks, how some people favor a leg or arm, the way they cough. I don't know nearly enough to even make guesses about their health but it's fun to notice these things.