Floofcident (floofinition) – Mishap involving an animal.
In use: “Trying to walk around the cats and puppies when she was making a meal resulted in a floofcident; the resulting crash cleared the room of animals.”
The Nineteenth Game Dream
I was introduced to a game. I’m not strong on remembering details, but coins were involved. These coins were copper, brass, and gold. They had patterns cut into them. The game was about matching and stacking coins in precise patterns. As each pattern was completed, the player advanced to the next game, which offered more complexities. The nineteenth game was the hardest game level.
Playing the game soon absorbed me. I played alone under a light, on a table. Sitting, bent over the table, I examined the pieces, selected the stacks and positions, arranged them, re-arranging them as necessary. If you had a piece wrong, the game ended. You had to follow a predestined set of arrangements.
I finally screwed up. A buzzer announced that I’d lost the game. Lights came up. A man entered. He informed me that I was playing the nineteenth game. Surprising news for me. He went on to say I was very close to finishing it, which pleased me, and then informed me that I was the only one left playing at that level. With those circumstances, they’d been streaming my play globally for the last twenty-four hours. Everyone was watching, cheering me on, hoping that I would win.
The experience left me happy but eager to begin again to reach and finish the nineteenth game.
Zerofloof
Zerofloof (floofinition) – 1. The first animal in a person’s life.
In use: “Despite going on to share life with a dozen more felines, Jade was forever the zerofloof, and she left her mark in ways no other could touch.”
2. A place or period when no animals are in one’s life.
In use: “He endured zerofloof twice and vowed after the second that he’d never be zerofloof again, because having a dog companion, someone to walk and talk with, someone he absolutely trusted, didn’t need to be experienced when there were so many beautiful dogs out there, waiting for the right person and home.”
Reminder
Fast paws and sharp claws
can slice you in a second
the cat said, purring
Yallerfloof
Yallerfloof(floofinition) – 1. Foof slang for yellow animal.
In use: “Many people call Papi a ginger cat but Michael always thought of him as a yallerfloof.”
2. Archaic expression for an animal who likes talking or singing about everything.
In use: “The little puppy began life under hard conditions, becoming a yallerfloof early on, a state he never left as he was adopted and found a home, singing about birds and animals in ‘his’ yard, happily barking when his people appeared, and joyfully yipping when he was about to be fed.”
Floofalogue
Floofalogue (floofinition) – 1. A conversation between one or more people with one or more animals.
In use: “The question about who is hungry always began a floofalogue with the cat, but the dogs — a little more reticent, in her opinion, more polite, really — always did join in.”
2. An enumeration of items arranged by an animal.
In use: “The cat had developed a habit of stealing from neighbors and lining up his treasures as a sort of floofalogue of his exploits.”
Monday’s Bumper Sticker
Hey, it worked.
The Jeopardy Dream
It started with Jeopardy. Alex Trebek was there. I was a contestant. The categories were all about me, like childhood injuries, places I’d lived, the names of former teachers and bosses, cars I’d owned. No other contestants were on the stage. I instead played against the people at home. Anyone could immediately buzz in, get recognized, and give the answer. They had to beat my buzzer, though.
I knew the answers. Easily winning, I was having a fun time. Then, reality: some part of me wondered, “Isn’t Alex Trebek dead? Why is he in my dream?” That blew it apart.
I went on to another dream. Back in the military, we were relocating from one place to another. The new place was in the middle of a building. It had desks and consoles but no walls. Everyone kept saying, “This isn’t secure.” I kept replying, “We have no choice. We didn’t make this decision. It was thrust on us.”
The move went along in starts and stumbles, with me and other command post personnel physically relocating things. At one point, someone ran in to inform us that a security incident was taking place. The security police were trying to reach us but no one was responding.
I dashed over to the new command post location. The security police hotline was ringing. I shouted out, “Who is on duty,” while hurrying to the phone. Miguel appeared, rushing to the phone and calling, “Oh, shit, I am.”
After he answered the phone, the dream moved to another phase. Not only had my work location changed, but so had my clothing and transportation. Myron was there to show me how to ride a bike. “It’s different, but you’ll catch on, don’t worry.” I wasn’t worried. Lots was happening, though, as I had to collect my clothes, find my place, take a shower, and then dress, and then ride away. The process of doing this was unwieldy and riddled with interruptions. I kept my focus, though I often had to stop to deal with something else.
Taking a shower had its own problems as the shower door wouldn’t stay closed, leaving me exposed to others’ prying eyes. After a bit of that, I shrugged it off: let them look. I’d picked out a light, short-sleeved blue-green shirt to wear. After I showered I found I had a shirt on, a polo style, light green. After a moment of thinking, I said, “Wait a minute, this isn’t what I selected.” I stumbled around, looking for the right shirt among my belongings. Finding it after a short search, I changed shirts.
The dream ended.
