Non-Turkey Day
Readers of my blog (and I know you're out there) are pretty much acquainted with the things for which I am thankful. You also know what I'm not too crazy about. Thanksgiving Day was not so great for me, except that I gave myself permission to take the day off and not think about my ever-looming projects. I did a crossword puzzle -- that was my big accomplishment for the day. My brother Mike went out for breakfast and discovered that the Village Inn had a turkey dinner special that looked really good. Of course the word "turkey" was flowing out of any available media outlet all day, so I thought I would go have me some. I even called to make sure the special was still on and they would be open and all of that. They told me that it would be ready after 6PM. So we show up, me ready for turkey, Mike just having pie. Not so fast! After ordering it and eating the little salad it turned out that they needed about another half hour to finish cooking the turkey. Mike was about done with his pie and nothing else seemed appealing so I decided to leave. On the way out we overheard that they also had a ham special. Why the waitress or the lady in charge didn't mention it I don't know. I would have just said, "Bring it on." I didn't want to go back in... when a situation like that goes bad, it doesn't seem to get better as a rule. So, no turkey for me that day. I came home and watched Finding Nemo on broadcast TV, immobilized on my air mattress thinking about turkey.

That was a minor annoyance but overall things are going well for me. I actually have a few nickels to rub together these days and the work is steady at the moment. I'm writing an animated series and I've sent a couple of manuscripts off to a publisher. I get along well with everyone in my family and I've made some really good friends over the years. Who could ask for more?

The New Zoo Review
I went to the zoo this weekend with my friend Debbie. Our favorite moment was when a gibbon walked along a rope just as casual as you please. None of that trying to keep his balance business. He was pretty funny anyway, the way he walked around with both arms in the air. Then another time we were looking at some birds in an enclosure. There were vultures and other things around. There was a little wooden bridge that went right through. Some black bird was right there and we were messing around with a leaf and the bird. Then some guy said, "I don't know if I would stand right under it!" It turns out that I was positioned directly below a vulture (about two feet over my head), to everyone's amusement. No, I did not get pooped on by a vulture, thank you very much. It was a really fun day.

Freedom of Speech
I'm going to get a little political again today. It's about this war thing - have you noticed that going on? Bush is on the other side of the world stridently reading his points as though they mean anything. Cheney is somewhere growling attacks (lashing out at his critics so they say). Is ANYBODY going to fall for this rhetoric? Give me a break. Unfortunately for them, this was all recent history, and nobody needs to rewrite it except them. They were the ones stomping around the world twisting everyone's arms to go along with their invasion (remember what sticks-in-the-mud those Frenchies, Russkies, and Germans were, for example?). And if you were an American politico at the time you would have looked like a lilly-livered coward who wanted 911 to happen again if you raised objections. Us regular folks didn't know what to think, until they got in there and didn't find any weapons and on and on, and the one big accomplishment is to get a tin-horn dictator in front of a kangaroo court. So, my two main objections this morning:

1. Bush (for obvious reasons) refuses to call this thing The War In Iraq, unlike everyone else. He keeps saying "We have to win the War on Terror." What does that mean? When the country of Iraq is pretty much flattened out and then rebuilt by Haliburton, with permanent U.S. bases surrounded by civil war, will we have won his War on Terror? Will that keep anyone from ever blowing up hotels in Jordan again? Please don't insult us with meaningless doublespeak, Mr. President.

2. The shift in priorities from actual security. Katrina was extremely instructive. I just saw a report that the cargo holds in our airliners can be about half-full of unscreened junk from who knows where. Guess what stands in the way of fixing it -- they don't know what to do because it would cost about 4 billion dollars. Gasp! 4 big billion. I guess they couldn't get their hands on Bush's credit card. I checked this morning and apparently the Iraq thing has cost about 220 billion and counting. I'm no mathemetician, but...

Oh well, if you're not a left-wing pinko I'm sure you're brain is buzzing with objections. Write them up in your own blog.

Bugs
It's interesting to me how our view of insects (I know, this is an arachnid but still) seems to have changed in recent years. I'm talking about on television of course. I've missed most of the reality shows, having seen only little bits and pieces here and there. I did get into Colonial House, but none of those people had to do anything particularly athletic or more disgusting than enduring each other's B.O. for the duration. My knowledge comes mostly from trying to avoid the segments while I channel-surf. I have a hair-trigger gag reflex, and always have. If I were a contestant on Fear Factor I'm sure I would be soundly beaten by my teammates after the taping for helping them lose each and every competition. Late at night you can see Ripley's, which apparently always must include a segment with someone putting roaches in their mouth or worms in their nose or the like (click - bye bye!).

I can't touch live cockroaches, sorry. I could probably handle a tarantula crawling on my hand, but you'll never see me in the Amazon trying to pick one up with my fingers (at least I hope to God you never will). That was one of the things that made me want to leave Alabama, there were dead "roach-bugs" everywhere. Nobody seemed to mind. I had the misfortune of seeing a segment on Conan O'Brien with some guy that thought eating insects was a really good idea. So I would be sitting in the little lunchroom trying to get through my sandwich and not think about the roach-bugs or some guy eating such things, and then a co-worker would light up a cigarette which I got to breathe as well. I ate outside as often as I could. Anyway, Bon Appetit!

To Blog or Not To Blog
As you can see this has become one of those blogs that suddenly comes to a screeching halt. It's been about a month since my last post. Have I been too busy? Yes and no. I have been having to use my creative energy in a variety of directions and there hasn't been much left over. I had also mistakenly thought that blogging would lead to some sort of two-way communication, but apparently things don't work that way. However, I did get some positive feedback from someone who read all of this stuff so I'll try to keep it going as a repository of solitary comments and observations. By the way, this painting is just here for decoration.

So how about some pet peeves of mine? ONE: Chewing gum. If you are gnawing on Wrigley's in my presence you will soon find me becoming grouchy and irritated. It's nothing personal. No matter who you are or how delicately you chew it bugs me, and always has. There is something about that eternal pointless grinding of the jawbone that drives me nuts. If you happen to add the dubious skill of "cracking" your gum, or if I have to watch it roaming around in your mouth, I warn you I cannot be responsible for my actions.

TWO: This is not as severe, but I just think it's silly. That is the habit some people have of referring to people in the plural. For example, I watched a very nice show about Vaudeville and radio and early TV etc. Somewhere in there a guy was referring to the "Jack Bennys" the "Red Skeltons" the "Bob Hopes." Is he talking about some secret cloning experiment? The last time I checked there was only one of those people in existence at a time.

THREE: I think we can all agree on this one, that being the proliferation of junk emails. Especially the ones that don't even bother to spell the subject line correctly. Someone wants me to "Chosse Coke or Pepsi?" They probably want you to chosse one too, but I refuse to chosse either. Oh well, it's easier to get rid of than the piles of paper that come by Snail (most of which sadly go directly from the mailboxes to the big trash can here at the apartments).