Category Archives: Humor

A Kinda Sorta Political Post

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Weather in the Tries:
Oooooh! Temps will be mostly in the 80s with a couple dips to the 70s, and the weekend in the 90s. Can ya dig it? And the lows will be in the 50s with the weekend being low 60s. A few years ago, this week, I went to the hospital to give birth to my Favorite Daughter. It was sunny, warm, and summer. When I came home a few days later, it was cold, rainy, and fall. Ever since then, I’ve associated her birthday with the advent of cooler weather. Her birthday is Wednesday, which should be spelled Wensday.

A Kinda Sorta Political Post:
I watched most of the DNC in highlight snippets, but the last night, I watched live. What a blast!  What humor! I don’t recall any of it being put-down, with the possible exception of one guy who said he was very impressed with the AI audience that filled the auditorium. He even managed to deliver the line and keep a dead-pan face, for a couple seconds.

The night before, I watched Tim Walz make his acceptance speech and was truly impressed. I would gladly sit at the table in the Walz kitchen and share an iced tea and maybe a white man’s taco/Bwahahahaha. One of the biggees of my admiration for them is the way they have raised their kids. OMG, that young man, Gus! Wow!! He was so proud when Dad gave his speech, Gus stood with tears of joy running down his cheeks, pointed at his dad on the stage and said, “That’s my Dad, That’s my Dad.” I nearly had tears running down my cheeks, too, from sharing his joy. 

I’ve tried not to go political here, but, alas, I’ma gonna do it. Admittedly, I watched only the highlights, and darned few of them, of the RNC, but the biggest difference I saw between the two was Joy. The DNC was full of it, the RNC sorely lacked. In seeing the snippets on the news, the MAGA crowd are always not just serious, but angry, vindictive. Or they look that way. As do a tremendous number of the evangelicals supporting the MAGA movement, whereas the MALA (Make America Laugh Again) people, whether democrats or republicans, find humor in their lives. MAGA wants to destroy, tear down, lock up, kill. MALA wants to build, unify, help, laugh. Pessimists v. Optimists.

Several years ago, when I was a good bible-toting Christian, Pastor brought up the subject of humor in church one Sunday (Baptists allowed humor? /snort.). Based on the adage that the nut seldom falls far from the tree, he decided Yahweh, father of Jesus, had a sense of humor—somewhere. But he had biblical proof that the son, Jesus, had humor: Matthew 19:14, Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” New International Version.

Yep, that was his proof. Remember when you were a kid at the park, and at one end was a guy yelling at the adults and any kids who wandered by, shouting about sin and salvation, heaven and hell, with more about the latter than the former? A ways down the park was a guy making balloon animals and telling funny stories? Where did you and your mates go? I can pretty much guess—you went to the guy who smiled, who made you and your mates laugh. You went to the guy who told funny stories, who made you laugh and feel good about yourself and being alive. Unless, of course, your masochism made an early debut and you went to the angry preacher and reveled in the pain.

Jesus tells stories that make children feel good about being alive, who makes them laugh. I don’t know why so many (alleged?) Christians are so severe, so lacking in humor, so angry, unless it’s power. Some will have power and therefore will continue the severity, the beatings, the hate, until morale improves. Because everyone knows if you make people fear you, especially through your God’s anger as delivered by his “chosen” modern day prophet ie, you, that person, that prophet, will   have   power! The great Walt Whitman once said, “Re-examine all you have been told. Dismiss what insults your soul.” [emphasis mine]

Photos of the Week:
The Great Blue is usually on the big pond, this is the only time I’ve seen him on our pond, and yes, that’s ice next to and on top of, the water. The pix were taken Jan ’23.

from the desk of the confused chihuahua;
my human got stitches out of her toe last week, and then her toe was taped down. I don’t understand, was it flying away. and why would she have stitches in her toe, was it falling off. anyhow housemate dan is walking me. my human says her toe doesn’t hurt, but it isn’t comfy. I still wonder how she got her toe in her sewing machine. and why she would do it. and why couldn’t she pull her stitches. humans are very, very strange. 

MALA

Make America Laugh Again

FMQ Looks Soooo Easy!

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Weather in the Tries:
Got up to 107, again, yesterday. Today it’s only gonna be 100, then the temps will drop to 86 on Thursday and up to 93 by next Monday. IF the prediction holds true. That’s always iffy. Depends on how big the competition between the butterflies of Seoul and Hong Kong. I understand their teams have some of the most ferocious wing beaters going. Beijing’s aren’t too bad, either, but they lost the competition this year to Hong Kon and Seoul. Keep your rain gear handy. Yep, I’ll see your Olympics in France and raise you two teams of Pacific Rim Butterflies!

FMQ Looks Soooo Easy!
Boy Howdy, I watch the Quilting Nerd show , I sit straight, make my hands follow hers to learn the motions, then go into my machine, it looks so farking easy, I work at it, then have to quit because I understand the salt of my tears will damage my machine. Besides, it’s too farking hot.

By the way, if you have a quilt you’d like professionally quilted, you might want to check her out. Her studio is here. She does both long arm, and domestic quilting.

Anyhow, I did figure out how to get my presser foot raised a wee bit last Monday, so didn’t have to take it to the sewing machine doctor (unfortunately, they aren’t covered on my health insurance). So I was/am able to practice. When it cools down somewhat. 

The “What, Me Complain?” desert dog is still sleeping on the floor most of the night. He’s not complaining, but he says it’s warm enough. But our afternoon nap/snuggle on the bed, he’s right next to me, stretched out and snuggled to my thigh. Although, today, he did evenutally move away a couple inches. 

Photos of the Past:

Egret across the slough where I used to live on the Columbia River

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Osprey nest out in the Columbia river, just about the middle if I’m remembering correctly.

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Cormorant on the shore of the Columbia. Like the Anhinga’s in Florida, they have no oil in their skin to help them stay afloat. After a few dives, they have to come out and sit in the sun (if they can) but hold their wings out to air dry.

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from the desk of the hot dog;
Sammy says he’ll write when he’s a few degrees cooler as my lap is just too hot to stay put.

TV Series of the Week:
Netflix, Korean 16 episodes, My Demon. Lots of eye candy, and a fun story. And God is wonderful. She just damn near stole the show! A fun RomCom.5 stars! Excellent subtitles. Of course, if you’re fluent in Korean (Hangul?) you don’t need the subtitles 😉 The Asian Wiki has some info about the story and cast, here.

Music of the Week:
Jesse Cook-rumba-flamenco music think I’m gonna have to save my pennies and buy a couple of his cds. Especially before I leave on my road trip!

Quote of the Week compliments of Holidappy.com:

“The trouble with quotes about death is
that 99.9% of them are made by
people who are still alive.” ~Joshua Burns

Spring Cleaning of Poetry

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Weather in the Tries:
Well, it’s gonna be a bit cooler this week, hi 60w to low-mid 70s, with a chance 35% of us will get wet. Or is that a 35% chance it will rain? Or will we only get 35% of the raindrop? Sammy doesn’t know any better than I do. Oh well, it’s all gonna change anyhow.

Spring Cleaning of Poetry:
I decided to finally tackle the small mountain of papers stacked haphazardly on my desks. Yes, I have two. The one on which my computers sit and the one behind me that collects the overflow. I decided to deal with all those papers (really, it was an organized mess, I pretty much knew what was in each pile) yesterday. And then I became concerned when developers started calling me to inquire about the view property. So I now have no view property and a couple of well-organized piles of paper, most of which will be filed later today. 

All of which is to try to explain why I’m late.

I found a stack of poetry I need to go through and sort. A lot of it seems to deal with Thomas, I may have enough for a real book. Found a snarky one I totally forgot I’d written. Read it to my Sunday Group, and they loved it. 

This morning, I hit the deck running, as they say somewhere, got to my computer and first thing up, was I was asked by an editor to submit a poem! Well, that, obviously had priority. It went out before I’d had more than a couple sips of coffee, and then there was Word Jammin’ I had to connect with to get my tickets to tonight’s show.  Love this zoom program! It’s not an open mic, but four poets and the hostess, reading. High energy. Not the kind of poetry I write, but oh, do I love to watch. I’d say it’s like a Slam on Zoom, but I’ve never been to a poetry slam, so I can’t do that. And it may be way off base.

Another nice thing about Word Jammin’ is they’re on NYC time. Three hours ahead of us! I can watch them, then go to my writing meeting.

And then, just as I finished my first cuppa, my four-legged friend came in and asked for breakfast and a walk. So, we are back, and my second cuppa has been steadily emptying. 

Photos of the Week:
These are the honeysuckles outside my office window. I was going to put them up last week but am glad I didn’t. The lower blossoms, closer to the window I look through, have finished blooming. But, I have photos to look at whenever I want 😉

from the desk of the happy-dancing dog;
my human takes me walking in the sunshine, oh can you see my happy dance/ that’s supposed to be a question mark, but my paws can’t hold the shift key. my human says you can handle that. thank you. and dance your happy dance every day. after all, if you’re looking down at the grass, it’s a good day. besides, as my human says, it will make people wonder what you’ve been smoking, drinking, or eating.

Earworm of the Week:
Would you believe I’ve got Tevya worming his song, If I Were A Richman through my ears. Actually, it’s Topol singing. This clip is from the movie.

Quote of the Week comes from https://www.quotes.net/mquote/31597 and of course, it’s from Fiddler on the Roof:

Perchik:
In this world it is the wealthy who are criminals. 
Someday their wealth will be ours.

Tevye:
That would be nice. 
If they would agree, I would agree.

An odd week, this:

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Weather in the Tries:
IF, and that is both an operative word and a very large word, but IF my phone is correct, it will not get down to 32 this coming week. The lowest will be 33 all the way up to 36, and the days will mostly be in the 50s. With three days of sunshine on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday!!!

Maybe next year I’ll auction my shadow off—if I get more money to see my shadow and have 6 more weeks for the skiers to ski, or if the most money comes from the summer people… And all money will go to charity. What do you think? Should I auction my shadow off to the highest bidders???

An odd week, this:
This past week has been a bit odd. I got a couple more books read and have about decided that Lois McMaster Bujold gets one more chance to worm her way back into my Kindle. What? You may be wondering did this fantastically marvelous SF/F writer do to upset me? Well, grab a cuppa, Bunky, ‘cause I’ll tell you.

Housemate Dan got me hooked on her Vorkosigan Series. There are 16 books in the series. The first two I read got me into the characters, who darn well should have been in the next few books, if not all. Well, in Book 2, she killed one of my favorite, okay, my favorite, supporting character. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know that when you get stuck you kill off your darlings. Well, dammit, he was MY darling, and I’m not telling you who it was. Then, in Book 4, which I finished yesterday, NOT EVEN A MENTION of the series people. Not even a wee mention in passing of anyone in the series. Okay, I admit, book 4 was okay, but it was a real let down, because I expected someone to show up and recruit the kids. 

All the books are stand alone, so I will try #5 and see what happens. 

Photos of the Week:
I was lying down with the Brave Dog the other day—something he demands at least once a day—and while I was reading, he was under the blanket until he got too warm then he squirmed until he was playing people in the bed. And, no, his nose isn’t sore, it’s the way his tongue cleans it, and the light in the room.

We also had snow the other day. Not much, but enough that the Brave Dog, the Big Chihuahua, said, “Walk? In that stuff? Not just no, but uh-uh, not me no!” Sometimes he really hates it when his people is bigger than he is, and had other ideas.

from the desk of the big chihuahua:
my human says there should be no snow this next week, and we are scheduled to have three days of sunshine. that does, of course, mean there is nothing wrong with her phone weather forecast. sunshine! oh, this desert dog is soooo happy.

Sunny Day Quotes:
“Even on a cloudy day, the sun is shining somewhere.” –@WillingToTakeActions

my human says if it’s cloudy you only have to go up thirty-five thousand feet. all you need is a big extension ladder. I don’t know how many feet that is, i’ve got four and she has two, and i’ve never seen an extension ladder, don’t know what it is.

It’s so good to be back!

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Weather Forecast for the Tries:
Gonna dip into the high 29-low30s for the next few nights. Probably until the horny hare makes his appearance next spring. The days will all be in the 40s. The rattlesnakes, and others, are by now either in a ball underground hibernating, or on a heat rock in some kids bedroom. Hope his mom is okay with that. We’ll have a flake or two of god’s dandruff, and more than a few hours of his tears. Otherwise, it will just be overcast. There is a possibility, regardless of how slight, it’s still a possibility, we’ll have measurable white stuff for the Solstice and or Christmas. The Pass (Snoqualmie) is getting lots of snow as I write this on Saturday. 

It’s so good to be back:
No, I haven’t gone anywhere. Our internet provider did. Or at least the wire that leads from the junction box to our apartment did. We lost service Friday night, had it intermittingly Saturday, and Sunday until about 6 in the evening, and then it left for good. The tech was here yesterday for about an hour, in the afternoon, and got it reinstated. By then I had two zooms and….

It’s amazing how much we use our computers. It’s also pretty amazing (to me, anyhow) how quiet it was without them. Housemate Dan and I share an office, and we’re both pretty good about using headphone so our computers don’t compete, but we’re both guilty of reacting, verbally, to what we watch. With nothing to watch, we were quiet. It lasted 5 minutes beyond our reinstatement, and then he was growling and I was howling.

I’m not big on podcasts, but methinks that’s about to change. When I first discovered MSNBC years ago, I started watching because of Keith Olbermann. I liked his style, but I really liked how on Fridays, he would read us a James Thurber story. He told us about his dad, and how he always read a Thurber story to him. And then he (Keith) was gone, moved somewhere else. When I found him, I couldn’t get the station he was on, so I watched his replacement. Well, the other day, I was listening to some news on YouTube, probably Glen Kirschner, and was in the other room, sewing, when his show was over and the old theme song for Countdown, Keith Olbermann’s old show, and I’ll be hornswoggled, he has a new (to me) show on YouTube. It’s a podcast, but it’s interesting.

Countdown was on last night as I had a few minutes between zoom meetings, and it didn’t take long before I was howling with laughter. Especially the story about meeting Mr. & Mrs. Carlton. And I agree with the Mrs. that I don’t care much for sports but she and her husband watching him every night and thoroughly enjoyed his show. Oh, Mrs. Carlton was a Brit, and that is the name he heard, not the name she gave, and by the time he was through with the story (it comes toward the end of the show) I was almost falling off my chair as I laughed. 

Photo of the Week:
This is from last August, the Brave Dog was in our office sleeping on the floor. Doesn’t he look brave? I’ll have you know he hasn’t run from a single Zombie Leaf this season. He actually stomps on them and raises his hind leg! He’s showing them who the Big Chuhuahua is! Grrrrowl!!

From the Paws of the Big Chihuahua:
It looks like the Weather Human finally listened to my human and sent the rain away. My human said we got rain because Seattle got a pineapple express, and some of the clouds made it over the mountains and we got leftovers. I usually like leftovers, but not leftover rain. I don’t like rain at all, it’s wet. Wet only belongs in my water dish! But my human tries to keep the rain away, and I love her for it.

Some things of possible interest …

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Weather in the Tries:

According to my phone, the next week the highs will be in the 50s dropping into the 40s. Today, Monday will be 71. The lows wll be in the 40s and 30s with one day, next Monday, at 29. Yep, Fall has done fell! Ka-Booom!! Of course, the weather is always subject to change at a moment’s notice. 

Some things of possible interest…

I think I’ve mentioned before that I subscribe to Jerry Coyne’s blogs. He publishes several a day, I tend to read the Hili Dialog when it comes first thing in the morning, and the Caturday Trifecta every CSaturday. Jerry is a cat lover, and a duck lover, and a scientist, and is extremely prolific. This past Caturday part of the Trifecta was a story from Spoon & Tamago, a blog about Japan, and the story Tan Yamanouchi’s New House Speaks to His Cats’ Desires. 

I went to the website and was delighted with the story of Tan Yamanouchi, an architect who designed and built his family home to accommodate their two cats. The photos of the home are great. I had so much fun I started reading other stories, and subscribed to the blog.

Another story that fascinated me is: You’ll Soon Be Able to Stay in One of Japan’s Most Beautifully Designed Prisons .  The architecture of the prison is every bit as interesting as the article. However, I found this paragraph particularly interesting:
Japan incarcerates its citizens at a far lower rate than most developed countries: 37 per 100,000 people compared with 132 in Britain and 629 in America. And the inmate population in Japan has seen a steady decline over the past decade, which helps explain why Nara Prison was shut down in 2017.

I have not done any research on the topic of why we have so many in prison, but my opinion is it is tied to privatizing the prisons and using prisoners/slaves to do the work of the companies who own and operate them. Ah, Capitalism. Ain’t it grand?

Another newsletter I subscribe to is MEDPAGE TODAY. I started reading it during Covid, and though it’s meant for those in the medical field, I can still understand most of the articles, and find several of them fascinating, and always well written. The other day, I found one that I’ve read about now and again over the years, but this one gives us all the good parts.

The ‘PinkTax’ Wake-Up Call for the Healthcare Industry—All genders should have equal access to care. The good news is that (white) women are now earning about $0.82 for every dollar a (white) man makes. That up 4 or 5 cents since I was working for a living. The bad news is Black and Latinx women earn a whole lot less. And yes, medicines and treatments cost women of any color more than men for the same thing. I remember when Washington State removed the sales tax from prescription drugs with the called-out exception of birth control pills. We still had to pay tax to keep from getting pregnant!

It’s a very interesting article. I hope you’ll grab a cuppa and sit for maybe 5 minutes and read it. Frequently the responses are interesting. They are limited to those working in the medical field.

Death Care:

We have finished 5 weeks of our 8. A lot of grief work, and much of that is cross-cultural/race work. Truly fascinating, but I don’t plan on doing a lot of grief care. We have a wonderful system for grief support here in the Tries through Chaplaincy Hospice and their Grief Support Groups. I may be wrong, but I think most of my grief care will come immediately after the death, with some anticipatory grief ahead of it.

One of the videos I watched was Megan Devine on Grief. It’s a 48:12 minute long, and fascinating. She is an excellent speaker. Do a search for her, and look for that video. Or watch a bunch of the shorter ones.

At this point I have no idea how busy I’ll be, if at all. When the class is over, and I know more, I will talk to the kind person who does my Taxes, and a lawyer. Because I plan on doing my work without charge, or minimal if I spend money for my client, do I need to have things like liability insurance? What do I need, what do I not need, do I need to become a business? So many questions, that I’m not quite intelligent enough yet to know what they are and who to ask. 😉

I’ve known for some time that I live in a white bread snowflake town, but didn’t know HOW show white my town is, until I did a little research just to find out. I will try to put the table I made in here. Not sure if I can get it to translate, but                 

Race                   Kenwck     Richland    Benton Cnty    Pasco   FrankCnty

European60.7%87.0%65.0%38.2%60.7%
Hispanic30.9%7.8%25.0%55.1%53.0%
African1.8%1.4%%2.0%2.4%1.9%
Asian2.4%4.7%3.0%2.1%2.0%
Native Amer0.7%0.8%0%—-0.8%
Other3.7%2.62%1.0%0.5% 
Hawaiian—-0.1%2.0%0.5%0.8%
Multi—-7.18%—-—-29.8%
Mixed—-3.2%4.0%1.7%3.9%
Euro alone,Not Hispanic or Latinx  —-  83.0  83.0%  —-47.0%

Pasco is one of the Tri-Cities, however it is in Franklin County

These figures come from Kennewick: https://bestneighborhood.org/race-in-kennewick-wa/ , Richland: https://www.biggestuscities.com/demographics/wa/richland-city Benton County: https://censusreporter.org/profiles/05000US53005-benton-county-wa/ Pasco: https://statisticalatlas.com/place/Washington/Pasco/Race-and-Ethnicity  and Franklin County: https://www.homefacts.com/demographics/Washington/Franklin-County.html

*Pasco is in Franklin County, Kennewick & Richland, and several other small towns are in Benton County/ Kennewick, Richland, and Pasco are 3 cities separated by 3 rivers. (that’s not quite true but darned close. We do have 3 cities and 3 rivers—Yakima, Snake, Columbia.)

Humor:

So, I decided to let my hair grow, but it was thick and needed a trimming and cut to go with the curls and waves. I called a stylist and asked if anyone in the salon enjoyed cutting naturally curly or wavy hair. She said she loved to cut it, so I made an appointment and went in. The first thing, of course, was the shampoo. How I love to have someone wash my hair and give me a head massage at the same time.

Then it was back to the chair where she dried my hair and turned me so I couldn’t see the mirror. Hmmmmmmm… Then she started messing around with something hot and pulling my hair through it. Odd, that. But she clipped and she cut, and gave me more than a trim, and then started messing around with that hot thing again. The end result is here:

I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. I settled for laughter. She was worried I might not like it, but if I’ve learned nothing else in the last 8 decades of my life, is it’s only hair, and it will grow out, and a shampoo in my own shower helps a lot. Of course, wearing headphones didn’t help, they took away my cute winglets. So, the next morning I got up, took a shower, and played with it myself. I don’t have all the curls in back that I had, but I think some more of the extra hold gel will help with that. And a spritz or two of pink and or purple and voila, the next day:

From the Paws of the Big Chihuahua:

It’s Fall. It’s turning cold.  I’m busy. I’m napping. Naps are good. Either nap with me or go away.

A Bit on Politics Written in the Font of Snark

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Weather in the Tries:  We may get rain today, Monday. 50% chance. Our high will be 68, but by Sunday it will be up to 80 with sunshine every day from Tuesday on. Lows will be in the high 40s, low 50s. Perfect sleeping weather.

A Bit on Politics Written in the Font of Snark:

Today is Thursday, 28 Sep 23, and Washington DC is gearing up for a Government Shutdown. I have a possible solution: Don’t pay Congress during the shutdown! Odd, isn’t it, that the Pro-Lifers who want all abortion stopped no matter the reason, won’t put limits on gun ownership, or fund families and single mothers who need assistance so they can feed and clothe their children, let alone afford the burial when one (or more) of their children die from prevented trauma. You know, like malnutrition, starvation, lead poisoning from an AR 15, lack of medical care.

And our Military? Oh, why in the world would they want, let alone need, to be paid? After all, they can eat in the chow halls and sleep in the barracks. But, what about their dependents? Yes, I know, if the Military had wanted them to have dependents, dependents would have been issued at the end of Basic/Boot Training. 

I really hope by the time Monday rolls around, and CBE is published, the shut-down has been avoided. But then I remember I stopped believing in miracles years ago.

And the old farts and fartesses on Social Security? Actually, as I understand it, we continue to be paid as it is mandated by law and financed through a payroll tax. But mothers with young children will be hurt by the Pro-Life Party Shutdown.  

Alright! This is too freaking much! As of today, Friday, FAT BEAR WEEK is in jeopardy! Yes, If Washington gridlock pushes the country into a government shutdown on Saturday, the Fat Bears will be furloughed, as well as the Park Rangers. Fat Bears are considerably more important than a few tantrum-throwing-juvenile-Congressmen! Feed tantrum-throwing-juvenile-Congressmen to the Bears!!! (Make sure those juvies have no communicable diseases first.) Save Fat Bears!!!! What? What did you ask? You don’t know about Fat Bears? Oh, you are merely ignorant, and that’s treatable, unlike stupid which cannot be treated. The stupid diagnosis belongs to tantrum-throwing-juvenile-Congressmen. To include Sen Tuberville!

Saturday night:

Well, goodness gracious sakes alive! There were enough young adults in Congress to pass a short-term funding bill with bi partisan support. Unfortunately, no additional funding for Ukraine. Young adults  don’t understand all that much about freedom and democracy, yet, and think Papa Putin really likes them. But 45 days is better than no days to get them some learning. And Fat Bear Week goes on….!!!

Doula:

I did watch An Honest Death: A Palliative Care Doctor’s Final Days. The Dr. had a terminal prognosis, and asked NHK (Japanese News Service) to film his final days. The movie is less than an hour, and very interesting. There was a part in the middle where there was no sound, but there were subtitles to read. The Dr. and his wife were both end of life doctors, and he was a Buddhist Priest. I didn’t cry near as much in this one as I did in It’s My Party. There is something in the Buddhist philosophy that brings about peaceful deaths, an acceptance, though he did want and received Continuous Deep Sedation –sleep state, usually done when the patient has less than 2 weeks to live and is in severe pain. The person passes away in their sleep.

We discussed what movies we watched over and over and over that were about death. I think my favorite is Departures. A Japanese film. And, yes, I still watch The NeverEnding Story. I cry in both of these movies. And in this series, Navillera. It’s a 12-episode Korean series about a 70-year-old man who retires and wants to learn to dance ballet. (I also cry during some commercials, but that’s another story.) And there are two songs that make me cry—Ed Ames (or anyone else) singing Who Will Answer and Bette Midler singing Wind Beneath My Wings. We all need something that will bring forth tears on demand, preferably under our control. Sometimes a good cry is just what the doctor ordered, but it’s difficult to cry on cue. 

Speaking of the Buddhist thoughts on Death, a friend sent me some information for Death, Love & Wisdom Summit, A Free Online Event October 12-16. You can read about it, and sign up if you’re interested, at https://tinyurl.com/bdf68n4k. The classes will last a total of around 3 hrs a day as I understand it. Maybe more if there are longer meditations.

Photos from the past, some claw and fang of Nature:

Two of my favorite photos from road trips. The Coyote was taken in Yellowstone NP, we’re pretty sure she was a she with cubs up on the hill. She came up the hill from the river to stop by the road to let us go first. We stopped, rolled down the window, and I took this picture. As soon as we drove on, she quickly crossed the road and went up the hill. If you look, you can see blood from her kill that morning on her fur. I gave a framed copy to Patricia Briggs, author of the Mercy Thompson Hauptmann books of weres, vampires, and other assorted shapeshifters.

The alligator was in Florida. I don’t want to get snuggly close to one, but they look so happy, like they just got the joke! And the reason they are so far away is because Sammy Brave Dog, aka The Big Chihuahua, keeps them there. Or at least out of our pond! Isn’t he a good dog?

From the Paws of the Big Chihuahua:

Does my human have any idea how BIG the mouth and teeth are on both of those critters? And she expects me to keep the ‘gator out of our pond??? Well, so far, but if that guy ever comes for a visit, I’m leaving. Keeping the Hippopotamuses out of the parking slots is bad enough. But she thinks I do it, and she’s proud of me, so please don’t tell her otherwise. Okay? I love this fall weather, except for the zombie leaves, but so far they aren’t around much. Maybe the wind is keeping them away? Yes?

Marie Osmond Talks About Dada Sound Poetry, a 2:37 video that is gobs of fun. And perhaps something to think about for opening your front door the last night of October 😉

“Teacher means “to be born before”.” ~quote from An Honest Death.

And, if I can remember how to upload a tape, I will have three new poems in Spoken Word. I have the World’s BESTEST computer Guru for this blog! She is patient, knowledgeable, and a good friend!!

Basin:

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noun

An open, shallow, usually round container used especially for holding liquids. Or smoke, if it’s the lower Columbia Basin.

Weather in the Tries: I dunno, it’s too smokey to see in the future.

Yes, we here in the Columbia Basin are getting smoke from the fires in Canada and Washington to the north, Washington and Idaho to the east, Oregon to the south, and Washington to the west. And, be a basin, we gather all the smoke we can, and keep it. According to the EPA, our air is currently Very Unhealthy at 261AQI. (Remember, I am writing this on Sunday. Our air tomorrow, which is now today when you read this, is forecast to be some better.)

But, I gotta tell you a funny. Well, it’s funny, but sad in a way, too. As you know, have you ever been to visit, we have some pretty good-sized wind turbines up on the hill. A friend who is on a Neighborhood app said that someone wrote in and asked who to contact to turn the giant white fans on to blow our smoke away. Oh, yeah, great idea. The problem is, the fans are powered by the wind, they don’t produce it. The sad thing is, this guy was serious. He truly believes the fans create the wind because he’s noticed when the turn them on about 20 minutes or so later, it gets breezy here in the Tries. 

We probably ought to get used to this, especially if DuhSantis gets elected, because he wants to make the whole US as ignorant as he’s making Florida kids. It may be too late. Apparently, they are already among us. Maybe DuhSantis will choose Crazy Cousin Sarah as his running mate? Oh, excuse me, I need to go wash my mouth out…

I do sorta feel like I’m back in the pandemic—I need to mask up to take the Big Chihuahua out for a walk, and he doesn’t like the smell, so we’re doing short walks. I woke yesterday after a night of coughs, and Housemate Dan (who never closes his window) woke this morning coughing so all our doors and windows are closed for the duration.

My friends in SoCal are already having power outages, and winds. The news says there are about 10,200 homeless in the San Diego area. I imagine the homeless population that will be affected by Hilary is pretty high. I hope they are all in higher areas, and not at the lowest points. It has to be scary enough surviving on the street, in blue tarp shelters, without the high winds and threat of flooding. 

Some of the things I miss about Florida (besides the cicadas and ‘gators) are the tropical storms. I loved the rains. Of course, my house was high enough I wasn’t concerned about flooding, and the dirt/soil was made by all those little organisms to quickly train the water. Where there was a lot of concrete, well, that would flood. Sometimes, my swimming pool would gain 4-6 inches in the length of a good rain. I really loved how the rains would come in, say ‘Howdy’, then skedaddle on to the neighbors. I would stand at my dining room doors and watch the lightning. As much as I loved to watch it, I hated it when it hit—people lost a lot of electronics, etc. when it hit, or hit near, their homes. Sometimes, they’d lose the entire house if a fire started. That took some of my enjoyment away. But I still love a good thunder/lightning storm, if only there was no damage. I’d enjoy a good ‘cane, too, if there was no damage. Old Ma Nature is no dainty, prissy, demure gal to be trifled with! If we’re gonna mess up her domain, why should she be kind to us and ours?

The Big Chihuahua says he doesn’t want to move to Florida. He doesn’t like rain, thunder, lightning, or riding in a car. So, I guess I’m staying here. He further states he doesn’t understand my liking of ‘gators—he’s sure they’re overrated. And he does not want to eat one (which is fine by me—the less he eats, the more there is for me!)

Another Weather PSA

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Weather in the Tries: HOT! WE HAVE AN EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING UNTIL 11:00 PM THURSDAY, AUGUST 17. All triple digit days, with the remainder of the days in the high 90s, which, due to all the buildings and concrete, etc, are often higher than at the airports where temperatures are normally taken.

No, I’m not seeking sympathy, I know many of you have it hotter, and with more humidity, I’m using the temps as PSAs to help you plan/not plan your trip to the Tries. 😉 And isn’t it nice to know Climate Change is a hoax????/snort/bwahahahahaha/

This just came into my email, thought you’d all like it.

I think Saying Goodbye to Thomas is basically done. It is out to a few readers who will go through it, tell me where it’s broke so I can fix it, and maybe re-order the poems so they make more sense. Once I get it all prettified, and fixed, it heads out to publishers. Sending it out now, keeps me from fiddling with it. By sending it out to readers, I am, essentially, putting it on a shelf and forgetting it for a couple of weeks. at the moment it has 27 or 28 poems and including all the frontis & backis pages, is 44 pages long.

The below was written by Good Friend John. He has friends and family all over the world, or at least the western hemisphere, studied Russian in college, and lived in the Russia House where they only spoke Russian (if my memory serves), and when he sent me the paragraph, I asked permission to share with you. 

“Unrelated in a way, but in a way, not:  I saw a comment by one of the Russia-Ukraine analysts that he asked a Russian opposite number, who he has known for years, if there was anything, anything at all, that would bring Russians out on the street en masse, from the Baltic to the Bering Straits, and despite the police reaction, given that the Ukraine invasion has not. He replied immediately: Abortion. If the regime prohibited abortion, the reaction would be immediate, not only in the big cities, but even in the Muslim areas, even in the most machista parts of the nation. A Russian might beat his wife, but he stands for her right to an abortion. The Russian sociologist (if that’s what he was), said that he, himself, can’t really explain the degree of feeling on the matter.” 

I am quite surprised that abortion is allowed in Russia, given the “religiosity” of Putin and the Russian Orthodox Church. I wonder if the OP knows that? Bet he doesn’t. For surely, if he knew his hero allowed it, he would not be so proud for killing Roe v. Wade.

Y’all stay cool. Read books. Stay hydrated. And remember, the Wednesday special at The Pub is wings! Bone in or bone out, and lots of sauces from which to choose. I wonder if they have vanilla ice cream. I bet a black beer and vanilla ice cream would make a bang-up float!

I don’t remember if someone sent this one to me, or if I swiped it from Facebook, but I’ve kept it for years and when I need a good laugh, it’s usually the first thing I go to. For years I kept it on my desktop so I wouldn’t have to look for it.

The Kiffness

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Weather in the Tries: We actually had a wee bit of rain today! As well as heat. Humid. Blech!!! Still, we’re in the upper 80s and lower 90s, at least for another week when it goes triple digit again.

I’ve started to put my chapbook together—Saying Goodbye to Thomas—and that’s what I’ve mostly been concentrating on. I hope you’ll like it when it comes out some day, some year?? All the royalties will be divided between the ALS Association and Death with Dignity. So plan on buying a few copies, okay?

Do you know ‘The Kiffness’? He has a real name (David Scott), and is from/in South Africa. He loves making music with animals, especially cats. Please check him out. It’s too hot to think, and too hot to do anything else, we might as well have some fun, yes???

Top 10 cat songs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IT8gz3u–8A

African song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8N_yn8mJOU8

Meowzart: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwBblOuy-kw

Take on Me (with a bird): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7acmKtL6og

Okay, that’s it. You want more, you can find them on the telly, uh, ‘puter.

As far as DuhSantis goes, I went all week and managed not to think much about him. Too interested in the latest indictment of the OP. We do live in interesting times, yes?

Okay, one more: Cucumba: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Xa7Dp3-eYA  

Y’all stay cool, stay outa trouble, and have a great week. Alright, if you can’t stay out of trouble, at least don’t get caught!

Sammy Brave Dog says he’s ready for some cooler weather. He wants to snuggle in the night and he does, then he gets way too hot. Not to mention his melting human;-)

Looked outside as it was beginning to get dark, and saw this rock in our pond. It didn’t look right (it was darker than the camera shows), oddly what I could see were the feet. So I took her picture. Don’t know if she spent the night there or not, but she blended quite will the rocks behind her even though they appear white and she dark.