Crash Speaks

Now this is a sight you don't see often.  Mom bought these beds for us.  They were very comfy in the beginning, but I don't sleep in mine anymore.

Burnie and I don't usually get this close.  He must have come onto the couch while I was sound asleep.  If I was awake, he wouldn't get this close and if he did, I would have run away.

He's such a pest and I hate it when he stares at me.  I try my best to scare him by growling and hissing, but he just looks so innocent.  Then I get in trouble for growling and mom says I should be more tolerant of him.  When he stares too long, I just run away.

Last night at bedtime, I went into the bedroom right on time.  Burnie tried to get in, but I wouldn't let him.  Finally, Mom opened the door a little more and he just waltzed right in.  He didn't stay long, so I had Mom to myself until this morning.  I like that.

Hi, my name is Burn, but you can call me Burnie.

I live in a very nice house with Mom and another cat, Crash.  Crash doesn't like me very much, but I like her and would really like to play with her some day.  She just hisses and growls at me whenever I even look at her.

Enough about Crash.  Would you like to learn something about me?  Way before I came to live in this house, I lived on the street.  One day I saw someone open his door, so I scooted in before he realized it.  He thought I was cute, so he let me stay.  That's where I met Crash.

One day my friend went to work and didn't come back.  His other friend stayed in the house, but she kept adding more and more animals.  First there was a big dog, then another dog.  Then she took in two other cats and a bird, a rabbit and some other animals that I don't know what they were.

One day, Mom decided that she really had room in her house for another cat.  She had already taken Crash to live with her, so she chose me.  This new house had lots of trees that had lots of birds.  I like looking at birds.  There also were some other animals, Mom called them deer.  They used to wander through the yard.  I never went out, just sat in the window and watched all the deer and birds.

Soon, Mom decided that that house wasn't the right one.  So she piled us in our carriers into the car and we took a long ride to our new place.  I was so happy to be riding in the car that I sang to Mom all the way.  Sometimes Crash joined in my song.  Mom didn't appreciate our singing.  When we got to our new home, she said that that was the last time we would be going anywhere in the car.

She lied.  A few weeks later she took me to a vet because I cough a lot and also limp (but that's another story).  The vet said I was OK and gave mom some sticky medicine to put on my paws when I cough, though I don't see how medicine on my feet will help my cough, but it does.

I really like my new home.  I can sit in the window and watch the cars go by.  I also watch whenever dogs go by with their people.  When it rains and snows I'm so glad that I don't have to go out for a walk.

Well, now that you know something about me, I hope you'll enjoy hearing from Crash and me about our adventures every week.

The Coming Tragedy

I just read an article that covers the next big problem about to hit our nation.  According to the newspaper, this may affect more people than Global Warming (now known as Climate Change), the Polar Vortex, blizzards, freezing temperatures.

I’m talking about a national clown shortage. 

Who will warm our hearts when the next Ice Age hits?  How many companies will lose money and have to close their doors?  If there is no market for large balloon noses and oversized shoes, who will bring a smile to the face of those who are laid off? 

It’s a vicious circle.  No clowns to buy the noses to bring a little cheer to the unemployed who are unemployed because there are no clowns.

I know that may not seem important, but what about the other jobs that will be lost.  There will be nobody to buy the elaborate make-up and wild wigs and the outrageous clothes.  What will the seltzer companies do when there are no more clowns to buy their product?  Will we ever again see 10 grown men exiting a small car?  What will happen to the circus or the rodeos?  Who will sweep the shadow into a dustpan?

Clowning is truly a dying art.  Many of the older clowns are too old and there are not so many young people interested in clowning.

It’s time to make clowning more glamorous.  We have to get out the word that Clowning can be a wonderful profession.  More education is needed to get young people interested in Clowning.

Save the Clowns!

The Law of the Land

I have a question.  When is the law of the land not the law of the land?

Answer:  When the president has a pen.

Last year during the government shutdown, the republicans wanted to make some changes to Obamacare such as delaying the mandate and the medical device tax as a condition for raising the debt ceiling.  The democrats would have none of that, declaring that Obamacare is the law of the land and could not be changed.  This was one of the reasons for the government shutdown last year the republicans had included those terms for raising the debt ceiling.

Now, however, it is OK to change the "law of the land".  With just a stroke of his pen, the president has changed this law not just once, but many times.  Can someone please explain how it is OK for the president to change the "Law of the land" and the congress cannot change the "law of the land".  It is their job to introduce, debate, change and vote into law the bills that originate in congress.

I just don't understand.

Crash Speaks

Finally, it's our day.  Mom has finally decided to let us write on her blog.

 

Since I'm the oldest, I'm going to start with a little background.  My name is Crash and I was born in Woodhaven.  I'm a calico with beautiful soft fur. I was found wandering the streets and was taken into a very nice home.  One day I made a mistake and chased a fly out the window.  I was lost and couldn't find out how to get back into my home.  Mom was visiting my home one day and looked out the window and saw me.  She brought out some milk and food because I was so hungry.  I stayed in Woodhaven for a while, then my friend left me.

When Mom's cat Midnight went over the Rainbow Bridge, mom decided to adopt me.  She took me to her house in the country.  There were lots of trees and birds there.  There were even some big animals called deer.  We didn't stay there too long then we moved to New Jersey.  It's pretty nice here, I have a lot of room in the house and there are no stairs.  That's important because I'm getting pretty old (13 years) and running up and down stairs can be quite tiring.

I like it here, it's nice and warm in the winter and cool in the summer.  Mom takes good care of me.  I take care of her too.  I stay in the room when she's in the shower so she's safe, I sleep next to her to keep her warm at night.

It's a good life, even if I have to put up with Burnie.  He'll tell you about himself next week.

Shocked

Last October, my right shoulder started bothering me whenever I slept on my right side.  So I stopped, but it didn't.  Then I thought that possibly, maybe, I was spending too much time playing games on the computer and strained my right arm.  I switched the mouse to my left hand, but that didn't help.

My shoulder kept getting worse, but I didn't have time to see a doctor.  There was Christmas, then my trip to Iceland and then the weather.  I don't drive in snow, never had to, so I never had much experience there.

Of course, living in the state where I do, that being the state of denial, I kept putting it off.  Yesterday, the pain was much worse.  I found it hard to lift anything and getting dressed was becoming more and more difficult. 

So, at 10:45 AM yesterday I called the doctor for an appointment.  After being on hold for a few minutes, his receptionist came on the line.  I explained my problem and she asked if I could be there at 11:30 that same morning.  After all I've been hearing about long waits to see a doctor, I was shocked.  I tell you, completely shocked.

I put on a little make-up and combed my hair and went to the doctor.  When I got to his office, I barely had time to hang up my coat and sit down when I was ushered into the examining room.  My whole time there could not have been more than 15 minutes total.

My shoulder?  The doctor thinks it's either an inflammation, bursitis or a stressed rotator cup.  He gave me some anti-inflammatory pills and a prescription for therapy.  If that doesn't work, I'll have to have an MRI.  It's starting to feel better already.

Since I didn't have to wait weeks for an appointment, my conclusion is that my doctor is extremely efficient, or he doesn't have many patients and had to dust off his office so that I could come in.  I vote for efficiency.

IN SEARCH OF THE LIGHTS

But, not THAT light.

Two weeks ago, a friend and I took a short trip to Iceland to find the elusive Northern Lights.  Our first night there, the tour (a boat ride away from the city) to find the lights was cancelled.  The second night we were able to take our tour.  This was a bus ride away from the city, but we had no luck.

The next day we visited the Northern Lights Museum and discovered why we hadn't seen the lights.

 

They keep them locked up in storage.

 

That night we had a jeep tour, stopping in three places until we could find the best spot.  At one time we rode up a road that had many so turns and bumps that if I hadn't been wearing my seatbelt I probably would have been thrown from the car.

 

We were successful!  The lights were turned on, faintly, but they were on.

 

 

These pictures aren't the best, but they are the best my camera can take.  I was very fortunate that the tour leader/driver/photographer made some adjustments to my camera so I was able to get these shots.

 

This is what the lights look like with a good camera taken by the tour leader.  Now that I compare the two, mine isn't that bad, but there is a lot of "noise" in the picture.

 

 

This next photo is of me and my friend, taken by the tour leader.  It wasn't too cold, but maybe it was because we were so bundled up.

 

While we were waiting, we were treated to a cup of hot chocolate with a little kick.  They added a bit of vodka to the hot chocolate.  Very nice!  Just perfect for a cold winter's day or night.

 

Iceland is a very rugged country - lava fields, glaciers, geysers.  But it is also a very beautiful country.  We did a lot of walking in Reykjavik and took a bus tour to see a wonderful waterfall, the geysers and a glacier.  My friend who is much braver than I actually walked on the glacier.  I had gotten all dressed for it - crampons and ice axe, but decided against it at the last minute.  Fortunately, there was another woman in the group who didn't think she could make it, so I generously offered to stay back and keep her company.

 

This was a wonderful trip and I hope to go again, maybe in the summer.

 

When we got home, we were greeted by the cold, cold night at JFK.  It wasn't this cold in Iceland.  I had parked my car in a long term parking lot by the airport and I dreaded getting into it since it had been outside for a few days in the cold.  Much to my surprise and delight, the parking lot attendants had my car running with the heater on full blast when we got to the lot.  It was so toasty warm.  What a wonderful end to a wonderful trip.

TV

This past Christmas, my son gave me the Roku system.  With this, I have access to all sorts of TV, movies, etc.

Tonight, I took a step back in time - to December 31, 1955 and Your Hit Parade.  At the risk of sounding like an old lady, the songs back then were wonderful.  There was Autumn Leaves, Love & Marriage, Moments to Remember, Memories are Made of This, Sixteen Tons all sung by Dorothy Collins, Snooky Lanson, Gizele MacKenzie.  There was one song, He, which I had forgotten about until Dorothy Collins started to sing.  It brought me back to a time when it was possible to have a popular song about God.  How far we've come from then.

They even had a commercial for Lucky Strike cigarettes.

Now for a little Perry Como.