Sunday, July 13, 2008

Talking points

Even though I know on some level how long it’s been since I last posted, I cannot believe it. Remember those old movies in which the passage of time was indicated by calendar pages flipping rapidly across the screen? That’s how my life has felt lately.

I’m blaming the distortion of time mostly on the heat. It’s been so hot and so humid that I’ve come close to melting on my way home from work each day. My best writing time used to be the hours between my arrival at home and the beginning of prime time TV, but lately I’ve been coming in and collapsing on the sofa to let the A/C blow on me, and that’s turned into an ill-timed nap every blessed day.

Since the heat has apparently melted some of the circuitry in my brain, rendering me incapable of composing more than a couple of coherent paragraphs, I'll just toss a few questions into the blogosphere. Feel free to discuss amongst yourselves.

Question: Should Barack Obama apologize to the nation for the fact that he was never a prisoner of war and, therefore, never had to refuse to divulge information to the enemy? I’ve never been a prisoner of war either, but I never realized that was a character flaw until I listened to Sean Hannity last week.

Question: Do you know that if you’re riding a bicycle in the street, you’re supposed to ride in the same direction as the traffic? Twice -- not once, but twice -- in the past week, I’ve nearly run over people who were riding bicycles. In both instances I was turning onto divided highways where traffic is supposed to flow in only one direction. The first time, I made a right turn, having watched to my left for a couple of minutes for a break in the traffic, then turning quickly onto the supposedly empty interstate entrance lane. The second time I turned left after waiting for the left-turn arrow. In both cases, as soon as I turned into the lane where I was supposed to be, I found a bicycle headed straight toward me. Both of them were way too close for comfort. I’m hoping that it scared the bike riders as much as it scared me, so maybe they won’t do something that stupid again.

Question: If you had a neighbor who insisted on standing right at the fence on the property line and taunting you day after day, would you feel like giving that neighbor a piece of your mind? I'm pretty sure that's how the dog next door feels when the peacock visits.


Question: When you look at the following photo, do you see three stacked laundry baskets, the top one of which appears to contain folded clean laundry?


That’s what I see, too. Kadi, however, thinks she sees a new dog bed.


Question: Did you believe me all those times I've written that Butch is a fairly large dog?

9 comments:

  1. Been missing you Velvet, but I can relate to the heat, same way here in Georgia as you know.
    I can too relate with the bicyles, what the heck? And with the clothes basket, only Sweetie waits until I have my clean laundry in mine, usually something BLACK, and then sheds her little white hairs. FUN! I finally learned to quit leaving a basket on the floor, but she'll do it every time. She's not that big though. LOL. Hope you have a good week.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Velvet, I do think the heat does something to our brains so don't be too hard on yourself.

    The Kadi bit sent me into a coughing jag!!!!LOL.

    Great shot of Butch...it's all perspective.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Velvet I had noticed you were not writing and I was just hoping you were not sick but I really did not want to find out you were so I did not say anything. But I am so thankful it is just the heat had had you slowing doen...Really hot here in AZ so I understand and was glad to read your witty words this AM.
    Helen

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm with Kadi. I see a dog bed.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Watson prefers a basket of dirty laundry as his doggy bed.

    Usually when we leave him at home, we shut him in our bedroom, and, as far as I can tell, he pretty much spends the time sleeping/waiting on the foot of the bed. Since we've moved to a new apartment in a new city (with new city noises), he's spent a lot more time in the laundry basket while we're away. He's also found a new apparently safe place: my closet. My new closet has an absurdly low rack on which to hang my clothes, such that the bottoms of my shirts are just two or three inches above the floor. I've got all of my shoes in the closet, so that the entire floor space of the closet is covered with shoe. I'm not entire sure why this seems inviting to Watson, but sometimes we'll come home and not be able to see him anywhere in the room... then we'll see his little black nose poking out from above my shiny black shoes. He sort of slinks out, does his doggy stretches and resumes play mode now that we're home. I should try to snap a few pics of his emergence from the closet and post them to the blog.

    ReplyDelete
  6. aww, Kadi is so cute! and I didn't know Butch shrank. Maybe he's had too many baths? Love all the photos!

    Being deaf, I'd prefer to ride against the traffic-if I rode a bike, which I haven't done in many years. I've ridden with the traffic and yes. it's scary for me to not hear a car approaching and then having it whiz by inches from me. I liked it better when I was a kid, when we could ride on the sidewalks. But now the law says you can't do that. Probably too many idiots were sideswiping pedestrians. So until I live in a rural area, I won't be riding a bike anytime soon-except my stationary bike in the basement.

    ReplyDelete
  7. The older we get, the faster time goes by. I never believed this when my dad complained about it 20 years ago...now I do. Also, I can't even sit in a chair to enjoy a TV program without falling asleep. I remind myself of the grandpa on the Rugrats show....always sleeping as soon as his butt hits the chair. So many things I scoffed at...now I'm doing them.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love what an opportunist Kadi is! And it's so good to see Butch's real size -- no doubt you bring him to work in your pocket...

    ReplyDelete
  9. Robbin, I've missed you, too, and apologize for not checking in with you on your blog. I hope you're well and will try to catch up over the weekend.

    CreekHiker, I hope the Kadi-cough didn't aggravate your post-pneumonia self.

    Helen, you've done a wonderful job of keeping up with your blog in spite of sickness. My only excuses are "too hot" and "too lazy."

    Maxngabbie, Kadi is slapping you a high five.

    Yajeev, it sounds like Watson has carved himself out a little doggy suite in the middle of your new apartment. Don't be surprised if he calls in a decorator.

    Janet, I can see why riding a bike with the traffic flow would be scary if you couldn't hear the vehicles around you. I don't like traffic surprises of any kind.

    Val, I fall asleep in front of the TV way too often. I'd blame it on age, but I'm not sure I can. When I was a teenager, I fell asleep every single time a date took me to a drive-in movie. Life of the party, that's me.

    Duly Inspired, now that you've seen Butch's actual size, I'm sure you can understand why the vet is having a hard time dealing with those pesky anal sacs.

    ReplyDelete

Your comments might be the very best thing about blogging. I love it when you care enough to share your thoughts here, so go ahead and say what's on your mind.