Friday’s Theme Music
As the world kept turning, the sun came on, arriving in the valley at 5:36 AM, officially, because we had light well before that. I know because the cats were like, “Come on, it’s night, let’s do something.” So, I was up at 4:30, doing something with the cats. Yep, feeding and petting, talking to them, just like it was a more civilized time.
The turning world will spin the sun away at 8:51 PM. High temperatures of about 94 F are expected, which isn’t too bad. Long as it stays below 100, we don’t feel the need for the A/C. The temp inside sometimes reaches 83, but then we turn on a fan. We’re not big A/C fans.
“Boom, Like That” (2004) is passing through my brain this morning. Mark Knopfler’s song about Ray Kroc and McDonald’s came on in when my brain opened the door by thinking about fast food restaurants. Our town has two: Wendy’s and Taco Bell. I don’t eat regularly at either. I visited the Wendy’s last year for ice cream. But these places — fast food — and big box stores have had a smothering influence, the way that they sprang up, crushing the locals. Meanwhile, what they often pay employees has barely moved until social activism kicked up some political pressure. As Mark wrote and sings, “It’s dog eat dog, rat eat rat,” in his smooth, dry way.
Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask as needed, and get the vax. We in Oregon are almost at the point where we won’t be required to have masks. Vaccinations are slooowwwllly closing in on 70%. That’s the state’s trigger for saying we’re good, following CDC guidance. Jackson County, where I reside, is way behind, at 52%. Ashland, though, is higher, in the lower sixties. Harder to get numbers for the town. Here’s the music. Cheers
That’s Life
Drips of time slide by
leaving nothing on my soul
I follow the streams down
looking for the exit
chaos movement in theory
an orderly life on surface
a spark still flickering
holding onto the last ember
losing its color
turning gray
fading into ash
Floofservative
Floofservative (floofinition) – Animal who dislikes changes.
In use: “After Kelly re-arranged the living room furniture, Tigress, a staunch floofservative who enjoyed routines, marched around, tail swishing, making derogatory mews about what had been done to her space.”
Thursday’s Theme Music
Thursday, June 24, 2021, found the sun’s first fiery fingers combing through the valley at 5:36 AM, silencing the night life, stirring the more noisy, numerous day life. With more thunderstorms yesterday and some meager sprinkles, temperatures fell again. Sol is expected to lift the temperatures back into the low to mid-nineties in our region. Right now, it’s 78 F and mildly humid. Sunset is expected at 8:51 PM.
We have a vacation planned for next month. Our vacations generally rank well with us in experience, and hold up well with memory. Most memorable are the ones that go wrong. Like, for instance, that time that we were living on Okinawa. We took space available seats — Space A is the lingo — on a military aircraft to Hawaii. Had a wonderful time. Space A took us south to Guam on a C141. Dark as hell in there. Seats bolted to the floor, facing cargo pallets and an engine. Box lunches — chicken, sandwiches, candy bars — sustained us. We landed at Midway. The base commander opened the small exchange and showed us around.
Meanwhile, a typhoon (as we called them then — this was in 1983) was churning around the Pacific. We made it to Clark AB in the Philippines (now gone) only to be hurried north. We were trying for our home base of Kadena on Okinawa, but the typhoon’s plans interfered. We ended up in Yokota Air Base, Japan, where the typhoon hunted us down, forcing us to shelter in place. Finally, the storm reversed direction and swung south, freeing us to head home, ending a ten day adventure. Not quite National Lampoon’s Vacation, but a lot of fun. And memorable.
So today’s music is “Vacation” by the Go-Go’s (1982). Test negative, stay positive, wear a mask, and get the vax. Here’s the music. Cheers
Prefloofnition
Prefloofnition (floofinition) – Ability to foresee that an animal is about to do something.
In use: “When Tyler’s ears perked up and his attention swiveled to the window, Maisy’s prefloofnition kicked in. As she said, “No, Tyler,” Tyler ripped out a string of barks and raced toward the door.”
Wednesday’s Theme Music
An afternoon of thunderstorms was Tuesday’s highlight. Rain fell sometimes. With all the thunder, you wonder, where is the lightning striking in this dry land? What part of the tinder is meeting its match? But it brought temperatures down into the eighties, though with a muggy overlay. Overnights fell even lower, forcing us to close windows against getting too cold. Aren’t we precious?
Hi. Today is Wednesday, June 23, 2021. Our ol’ friend Sol entered our valley like a child sneaking in past curfew, arriving at 5:35 AM (again – been several days of 5:35 AM sunrises). The child will sneak back out at 8:51 PM.
All that thunder and questions about lightning caused Eddie Floyd’s song, “Knock on Wood” (1966), to knock on my thoughts. Its fat sound spoke to my mood. Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask as needed, get the vax, and enjoy the day. Here’s the music. Cheers
