Science fiction, fantasy, mystery and what-not
They’re an independent floof of independent means,
(At least, that’s how they see it, just between you and me).
Going where they want, doing as they wish,
Eating off of everything,
Especially your dish.
You can tell them otherwise,
And order them, “Don’t you dare.”
And they’ll wait until you go away,
And then do what they please.
And though you may get angry,
You might even get mad,
You know when they’re gone,
You’ll be very, very sad.
He’s in the coffee shop restroom. It has an electronic lock. Press in the code to enter. Each button beeps. Press another button when you’re inside to secure it. A red light means it’s locked.
He can hear someone entering the code. Alarm ticking up, he watches the door. Did he lock it?
His worry amuses him. What will they see? A white man sitting on a toilet. They’ll see his pale thighs. Oh, no!
Inner laughter rolls. It’s the one who walks in on him who will suffer at that sight.
Floofrock (floofinition) – 1. An animal which is dedicated to a routine or extremely loyal to another animal or individual.
In use: “Rising at six thirteen in the morning every day, immediately checking on everyone in the household, and then insisting on punctuality for every meal before going to bed at exactly eleven PM each night, Jack was a floofrock par excellence.”
2. A person or organization who displays consistent devotion to the care, rights, and well-being of animals.
In use: “The many people who foster animals are a floofrock of the movement to stop animal abuse and animal testing. Their work is slow but persistent, and results are coming in.”
Floofgle (floofinition) – To search for information or stories about animals on the web.
In use: “Interested in fostering animals, Joyce floogled ways to get involved with animal rescue organizations.”
A beautiful day has been born in Ashlandia, where the produce is local, except for the imports. We’ll call this Sunday, July 30, 2023. Skies of blue promise don’t know anything about smoke, and sunshine is spilling down. 56 F now, 89 F is the projected high, quite doable numbers.
A short post. I’m getting on the road to another city here shortly. So I’m eating coffee and drinking breakfast — oh, wait, other way — and then I’ll be in the bath for the standard three morning maneuvers which start with S. Then I’ll dress. That’s right, I’m naked and posting. No, not really. I’m in my night shorts. They were originally sold to me as jogging shorts but they work so well with a tee shirt, that it’s my chosen sleep gear. Today’s tee shirt features the Blues Brothers and was picked up in Chicago at Buddy Guy’s bar.
Since I’m going on the road again, my oh so imaginative Neurons have packed the morning mental music stream (trademark visualized) with Willy Nelson singing “On the Road Again”. You know that’s gotta be my theme music on this day.
All you on the road have safe travels. Whether on the road or not stay positive and be strong. Keep your eyes on the road and your hands upon the wheel. Here’s the music. More coffee, anyone?
Cheers
It’s amazing. When he was a kid, he usually had two pairs of shoes, known as his ‘good’ shoes and his play shoes. Good shoes were also known as ‘dress-up’ shoes and ‘nice’ shoes. Play shoes became gym shoes and good shoes became school shoes. Dress shoes were added into the mix.
This trio — gym, or ‘tennis’ shoes, as they grew to be called — school shoes, dress shoes — were the status quo for years. A second pair of school shoes was added, along with cleated shoes for sports.
During his military years, he stayed with the triumvirate of shoes for his personal life. Gym shoes were still tennis shoes (though he didn’t play tennis), along with dress shoes and ‘jeans’ shoes. He began playing racquetball, so racquetball shoes were added to the mix. So were sandals. Then running shoes joined the shoe group. Military requirements dictated three more pairs of shoes: low-quarters (which were a super-shiny version of dress shoes), chukka boots, and combat (or paratrooper) boots. So it mostly stayed for his military career, except slippers were added through Christmas presents, and jungle boots and desert boots were added to fit his mission needs. The three pairs of military footwear were now five, because they’d done away with the chukkas.
Civilian life post military retirement brought on more shoe requirements. Aging helped. And shoe marketing. Now he added beach shoes, boating shoes, hiking shoes, walking shoes, and several pairs of ‘jeans’ shoes, also now called ‘casual’ shoes. There were work shoes, so he looked the role in the ‘business casual’ environment, but the military shoes were gone.
Going into marketing added more shoes to go with suits. Brown, gray, and black shoes were needed. He still had running and hiking shoes, along with walking shoes, jeans shoes, and casual work shoes. He was wearing cargo shorts frequently, and needed shoes to go with those. Moving from a pleasant year round clime to a snowy and wet environment brought up needs for wet weather and cold weather shoes.
Now he’s come to retirement. The suit shoes sit in boxes on shelves, but the rest have become so complex and numerous. He purged his shoes regularly, giving them away. His feet had widened and his feet’s needs had changed through the years, and that dictated changes as well.
Like so many other things, it’d become so very, very complicated. He wished for the days again when he had just two pairs of shoes. Given how life goes, he figured that circle would complete itself when he grew older.
Next: socks.
Discountfloofer (floofinition) 1. Animal who no one wants.
In use: “With its large, strangely flaring ears, huge, crossed eyes, giant head, and tiny body, few people were attracted to Magnifico, but to Billy, the discountfloofer was a perfect companion and a calming presence.”
2. Animal who is planned for euthanasia or left for dead.
In use: “Because of their conditions, the three kittens were labeled by many as discountfloofers, but the vet decided it was against her code to just let them die as long as they breathed, and undertook the work that allowed them to survive and thrive.”
3. A creature able to stave off others’ approach with looks or sounds.
In use: “The tiny kitten, later named Mango, used a loud, fierce growl, prodigious hisses, and furious spitting to stake his claim that he was a discountfloofer and not to be messed with, and backed up the noises with swift, sharp claw swipes.”
Floofidecimal System (floofinition) – Process by which animals can make them seem like they weigh ten times as much as their normal weight or appear to ten times their actual size.
In use: “Marcia loved sleeping with her dog and twin felines but they often used the floofidecimal system and end up taking over the entire bed, leaving a small edge for her to use.”
He’d been walking on a sidewalk, going up a hill, when a passing van’s music blasted him.
He knew that song — rock, yes — but his mind refused to give up the song’s title or the band’s name. Even more of the song was denied him. The same seven seconds kept swirling through his mental music stream.
It was going to tear up his mind. He needed to find enough to remember it or look it up. Based on his current rate of remembering, it’d probably be sometime on Friday or Saturday before he remembered.
Efloofzable (floofinition) Easily beguiled or manipulated by an animal.
In use: “Everyone knew Bonnie was so efloofzable; a doe-eyed look from her dog, a smile from her cat, or the brush of fur against her skin stopped everything else as she asked her fur friends what they wanted and how she could make them happy.”
Michael Seidel, writer 