Jigsaw Done

We finished a jigsaw puzzle last week. I neglected to share it. This is an interesting Charles Wysocki offering. Lot of fun putting together, with just the right balance of challenge and ease.

A Threefer: The Alligators, Awards, and Colrng Dream

After an era of dreaming where episodic and movie dreams that didn’t feature me dominated, dreams about me have punched back. Last night delivered a dream in three parts.

Part One began with me visiting with my sister-in-law and her boyfriend in Florida. Nice evening, etc, as we strolled along a via after enjoying a meal.

Two small alligators ran toward me. Each was about three feet long. I dodged them while warning others about the alligators’ presence. My SIL said something like, “Oh, those are my pets.”

They could be her pets but that didn’t stop the two from attacking me. As I danced and dodged them, one somehow leaped up and latched onto my back. The one chomping on me had hold of my shirt and a little of my muscle and skin.

I didn’t feel any pain, but I was terrified and wanted it gone. Whirling in circles and shouting for help, I tried getting free. The dinosaur-like beast budging.

I saw its partner still on the cement walk. “Oh, that one is dead,” someone said.

Retrieving the stiff dead ‘gator, I used it as a weapon, swinging over my shoulders to bludgeon the one hanging on. The tenacious reptile hung on. I finally shoved myself backwards into a wall as hard as I can. Crushing the alligator between me and the wall with enough force, it released me but then lunged for my neck. Twisting and ducking, I thwacked it with the dead gator and evaded its teeth. Then I ran away.

Slowing up, I found myself inside a sort of strip mall. Someone who I recognized as a brother (but not my RL brother), a large guy with black hair, was in there sitting at a white folding table.

He said, “Hey, they came out with the awards. I won.”

I said, “Congratulations, well done.”

Picking up the paper, he replied, “Wow, it says that you won, and that’s your ninth time in a row. That’s a new record.”

“Let me see.” I peered over his shoulder and read the news as he gushed on about how proud he was of me. He had a carrying voice. Others were soon crowding around, congratulating me. Disliking all the attention, I thanked them all, said good-byes, and hurried away.

Trying to avoid further attention, I ducked inside a darkened auditorium. Letters lit up in amber light on the far end. COLRNG. With a flicker of thought, I said, “Coloring.”

A man in a tux and top hat, carrying a cane, said, “Very good. Would you like to try another?”

Confusion settled on me. Seeing that word wasn’t hard, which I told him. He replied that most people couldn’t and urged me to try another. Try another? There wasn’t any trying in it. It seemed liked the weirdest game I’d ever heard of, but I agreed because I wanted to see this out.

Letters came up in blue neon. COLRNG. “Coloring,” I said. The man gushed about how brilliant I was. It must be a scam, I decided.

We moved on through green, yellow, and orange. It was COLRNG every time. After the orange letters, he informed me that I’d won a first level prize. Would I like to try for more?

“Sure.”

We went into another room. Letters in blue came up. COLRING. “Coloring,” I said.

The master of ceremonies boomed out, “You won! Would you like to go for the grand prize?”

“Yes. Sure, why not?”

He led me to another room. There, in big red neon letters, was COLRNG. “Coloring,” I said.

“That’s right! Congratulations.” The man in the top hat went on about how I’d won.

“What exactly have I won?” I asked. I expected some small and cheap offering.

“Fame, fortune,” the man in the tux cried.

“Right,” I responded, and left.

Entering a narrow hallway, I moved on. People coming the other way gasped and pointed at me in excitement. Bewildered, I asked, “What is it? What’s going on?”

They bubbled on about being big fans of mind, asking for autographs and selfies. Remaining bewildered, I signed and posed, sure that it was mistaken identity. More people rushed up, forming a queue around me. Security arrived to install order.

Dream end.

Thursday’s Theme Music

Mood: Rainflective

My wife notes, “Hey, listen. No helicopter.”

I look outside. We have 100% cloud cover. “Maybe it’s been called for weather today.”

A while later, a blind person’s cane taps across the roof. Rain is falling.

It’s Thursday, April 25, 2024. 51 F, it’s not warming much more than that today. Good day for mellow indoors activities, such as reading, housework, writing, drinking coffee.

After reading news coverage of the SCOTUS consideration about whether POTUS can have absolute immunity, I want to engage in other things and pushed it into deeper realms of my mind. It’s a challenging question to consider. I agree with the civil limitations previously established by the Supremes. Now, though, can the POTUS be granted absolute immunity about everything? Should the chief enforcer of the nation’s laws be immune from those laws? That seems surreal.

I also am boggled that Justice Thomas wondered about why former ex-presidents weren’t charged and tried in some matters and brings up “Operation Mongoose”. That was JFK’s CIA efforts against Fidel Castro. As JFK was assassinated while in office, how the hell could this be relevant? More headshaking about Justice Thomas is undertaken on my end.

You know, Thomas is 75. If President Biden is too old for his job, what about Justice Thomas? Just sayin’.

The cats were ravenous early. Then they were eager for loving. Took a while to make them happy today. Probably the weather change. That’s my go-to reason for most of the cat’s behavioral matters.

Having conversation with my wife about going east to see Mom and to get her some in-home help. I’ve asked my sister about it for her opinion and history of the matter.

Back in the kitchen, making breakfast, The Neurons bring a mellow break up song from 1999 into the morning mental music stream (Trademark impeached). As “Never Meant” by American Football gains substance, I call on Alexa to play it for me. Coffee is sipped as I watch the rain drip out of the clouds and think about life, existence, and the whole tangerine. “Never Meant” is such a mellow song, it’s perfect for a quiet rainy day.

Stay positive and as sane as you can. Be strong and Vote Blue in 2024. As noted, coffee has been ushered into my system. Now for the music for your benefit. Enjoy. Cheers

Thursday’s Wandering Thought

I encountered a man yesterday as I was walking along a street. I wear a hat with ‘flair’, and it attracted him. He wanted to see my US flag one. As he admired it, he asked, “What’s that beneath your flag pin?”

“That’s my retired USAF pin.”

“Oh, you were in the Air Force.”

The Neurons jumped up with responses like, “No, I just like the pin.”

I beat The Neurons back and answered, “Yes, I was.”

I wondered what his Neurons were saying to him about his question. I imagine they were like Homer Simpson’s neurons, muttering, “That’s it, I’m out of here,” followed by footsteps and a slamming door.

Another Wandering Thought

When I say thank you in response to service, the young baristas respond, “Of course.”

Makes me smile. I remember when I used to respond, “No problem.” Then some elder – he must’ve been fifty or more, and I was pushing through my teens – said, “Whatever happened to ‘you’re welcome’?”

Fifty years later, I understand his lament.

Wednesday’s Wandering Thought

We’re cleaning up. Purging. Reducing our possessions.

I’m reaching into dark spaces in the garage not touched by humans in years. Gloves are donned. Because this is black widow country.

I don’t kill them. I want us to peacefully co-exist. But I don’t know if they got the word.

Thursday’s Wandering Thoughts

One of last night’s dreams included a giraffe. I don’t think I’d ever dreamed of a giraffe before. It also seemed at odds with the rest of the dream. Having written and thinking about it, I put it aside with a promise to self to look up what a giraffe in a dream might mean. This explanation came up in my efforts.

Dreaming of a giraffe is a pointer to the challenges and difficulties you’ll have to face to streamline your life.

The giraffe dream tells you to see beyond the immediate challenges. Just as the giraffe can see predators at a distance, this dream calls on you to be wary of danger.

I might be groping for straws, but this definition fit with my initial, spontaneous take on why a giraffe was in my dream.

Wednesday’s Wandering Thoughts

I don’t know about other generations, but my fellow Boomers and I are frugal. At least the ones in my acquaintance are.*

We get a tube of something, we cut it open to get the last of it. I thought it was something only my wife and I do. But, oh, no. Friends and family all spoke up. Tubes, squeeze bottles, whatever, they all do their utmost to get the very last drop.

It’s odd and funny. Many will put themselves through ridiculous measures and extended time to reach that tantalizing last measure. I shouldn’t be surprise that it turns out to be so prevalent. After all, there are a remarkable spectrum of devices out there sold just to help, and tricks and tips on blogs, websites, and magazines.

We were doing this way before any economic recessions or the C-19 pandemic. My wife and I originally did this because we were in the military. Back then, in the 1970s and 1980s, they didn’t pay well. Everything had to be stretched.

Now, it’s just conditioning.

*Yes, I have read articles about the other generations and their spending habits. Gen Z is now cited as the most frugal. They’re young. We’ll see.

Tuesday’s Wandering Thoughts

Always amazes me how I arrive home and suddenly need to urgently pee. It’s not like I was driving home and had the urge and ignored it. No, it strikes after I get into the house.

It’s not just me, either. My wife usually reacts before I do, walking into the house, greeting the cats, and then announcing, “Oh, gotta pee.”

I always wonder if it’s another case of event boundaries. Like, oh, you’re home, so you pee. Or is it conditioning built up over the years: you come home, you pee.

Don’t know. Maybe there’s something in the house air that triggers it.

Or are we the only ones like this?

Monday’s Wandering Thoughts

Employees at a local grocery store wear shirts with “Look for the food you love” on the back.

I got caught up thinking about what food I love. Pie jumped into mind. I didn’t look for pie that day. Nor did I look for fruits and veggies, which I also love, or nuts and seeds. Nor cheese. Sandwiches. Didn’t look for them, either. Or pizza, another food I love.

I just looked for yogurt that day. It was on sale. A good price.

That’d be on my tee’s back: “Look for food you love with a good price.“

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