It was 9:30 p.m. on July 9, 2012. I was at Marin Humane, about to process a feral cat I trapped, when at the same time, an officer was carrying in an 18-month-old frightened fawn with white corgi mix. I immediately stopped and yelled, “Wait! Who is that?” And that, my friends, is how I met my dog, Skip.
A little malnourishedOur first meeting
Now don’t get me wrong; I knew the moment I saw Skip, he was meant to be mine; he simply had to be. Thus began our wonderful 13-year relationship. If you read my posts, you’re aware I’ve had a few pets in my day, but there was something unique about this one. Maybe it was those big brown eyes and his laid-back demeanor. He was a go-with-the-flow type; in other words, perfect for me.
Sometimes I wonder what kind of mother I would would have been if Jim, my ex, and I had been blessed with children. Seems it wasn’t meant to be; instead, we became godparents four times over.
I have rats. As in the kind that are disgusting, not the cute domestic rats my associate Donna has as pets. Her rats actually have personalities, like you and me. They don’t talk and they can’t shop or go to a movie with you but overall they’re pretty entertaining.
Izzy and Simon
I don’t know why we find domestic rats cuter than sewer rats, which are considered vermin, but there you go. My guess is the moniker, sewer, doesn’t enhance their image. But the thought of vermin taking up residence in my walls gives me the Creeps with a capital C. Unfortunately, I’ve had the Creeps a lot lately.
This blog was originally posted in 2014, and I still find all 10 things ridiculous…
You might think this particular post is similar to my “Pet Peeve” posts. But my peeves are totally different than what I find to be ridiculous. Peeves annoy me; ridiculous things baffle and sometimes amuse me. So here are 10 things I can only describe as…
1) The murder trial OJ Simpson: This one is the epitome of ridiculousness. The fact that 12 jurors could buy the cockamamie fiction OJ’s attorneys fed them, is beyond belief to critical thinking people. I say had his lawyers gone with the theory that an alien landed his spaceship in Nicole’s backyard, committed the murders, then framed OJ before silently hovering back to the mother-ship, they would have reached the same verdict. I lost all faith in our judicial system that day. I now rest my case.
2) Diminishing eyesight: Used to be I was far-sighted. Now I am neither far, nor near-sighted. So where does that leave me? Blurry-eyed, that’s where. Oh, the joys of aging. Our muscles become soft while our lenses harden. I tell you, it’s ridiculous.
3)Sagging: This is the fashion trend where young males, referred to as Saggers, wear their extremely over-sized pants far below their waists. In fact, the lower they can get ‘um, the cooler they feel. Maybe I’m aging myself but here’s what I see: a young man holding his pants up in order to walk, while at the same time stepping like a Geisha girl in a kimono because the crotch of his jeans is nearly around his knees. Come on!I’m all for fashion statements but this one completely escapes me.
4) Academy Award winner speeches: These are precisely why I tape the program. I fast forward through all the gloating to get to the good stuff – the dresses. Hey, isn’t that why we ladies tune in? In fact, I usually mute the red carpet segment too. Anyway, when will actors learn that an Academy Award doesn’t equate to curing cancer or solving world hunger? What the award actually means is this: you did a good job of pretending to be a particular character and your publicist did an excellent job of marketing you and your movie. Now get over yourself.
…and thanks to God, my accountant, my mail carrier, and my stylist, for without them, I wouldn’t be as awesome as I am
5)Smart cars:Really? My scooter is safer than cars like these that crumble upon impact. Now don’t get me wrong; they may be eco-friendly, but what do you care when you’re dead? At least on my scooter I can see what’s about to annihilate me.
A not-so-smart-car, if you ask me
After colliding with a motorcycle.Amotorcycle!
6)Watermelon with seeds: Why bother with spitting out those slimy black seeds? It’s gross and nobody can pull it off without looking vulgar. Besides, eating watermelon containing seeds is like choosing a Walkman over an iPod. Why would anyone do it? Try the seedless, people!
See what I mean?
7)Viagra Commercials: Does anyone believe there’s one single man in America who hasn’t heard of this wonder drug for weenies?I think not. So save your millions on advertising costs for a product every male knew about mere seconds after the very first commercial aired. Here’s a thought…why not throw some of that dough toward a cure for breast cancer?
8)Honking your horn in bumper to bumper traffic: Seriously? What’s up with that? We’re all stuck, not just you, so get a grip. Unless you’re trying to send a polite warning of: please don’t back up, I’m behind you, or saying hello to someone in the next car, you’re being a jerk. So quit it.
9)Diets: It’s a dirty word, if you ask me. The fact is, it takes weeks of watching what I eat to lose five pounds, but a slice of lemon meringue pie and two peanut butter cookies later and I’ve gained it all back, plus two pounds.
10)My dog Skip: It’s been months since I had the new dog door installed and Skip still can’t figure out how to use it.
Fortunately, I’m never at a loss for finding the ridiculous; all the more to blog about. Stay tuned for the next chapter.
Busy, busy…oh so busy; therefore here’s a blog post from October, 2016.
I’m sitting on my sofa writing this, fighting off something intangible, unlike the pesky fly that buzzed around my face earlier today. That reminds me, what’s a fly doing still hanging around in October? Didn’t he get the memo it’s time to move on? Anyway, what I’m fighting off today is exhaustion and I’m afraid it’s gaining the upper hand.
Normally I write in my office where I usually house a feral foster kitten. When I’m too busy to hold the little munchkin, I sometimes socialize it with a wand toy in one hand while typing with the other. So finishing a blog post when I’m fostering can be long and tiresome, not unlike this election season.
George, my latest foster
Anyway, I’d be in my office right about now but I don’t have the stamina to walk the 28 paces to get there. Yes, I actually counted. So I confess I wasn’t being honest just now because I actually walked the distance then came back to my cushy sofa to continue writing. Which brings me to the point of this week’s post; you can’t trust anyone.
Now Don't Get Me Wrong 