I noticed him about a half block away, lounging, sunning himself, just hanging out.
As soon as he saw me he got up and approached me with his tail in the air.
We chatted for a bit as i rubbed the top of his head and neck with my knuckles.
And then I left,and he went back to lounging.
.
I like cats for a lot of reasons, but one of them is that they are so honest.
They want something, they ask.
They want nothing, they leave.
They are perfectly capable of entertaining themselves, but are social all the same.
.
This week there is a story in the news about a cat in a New England care home who visits with residents during the last hours of their lives. Staff have come to recognize his ability to predict death.
.
And when you get up and leave a cat, unlike a human, they don't harbour resentments or even show sadness, or talk to their therapist about abandonment.
.
There is a zen quality of mindfulness that they posses. They live in the moment.
You’re a bit rude and crude Depraved and lewd You’re caught in a moral crunch You’re vexed and perplexed And way oversexed So - when can we have lunch?
- with thanks to Judy Blume (believe it or not...)
People don't just react when you change a habit or pattern. They tend to over-react. Cut your hair. Change jobs.Stop providing free rent to a relative.
The reaction is based on what they view from their perspective, and what self interest is affected.
Judy Blume, famous for her many children's stories about growing up, being a Tween, finding things out without being told, got a lot of grief from her fans for writing an adult novel.
The woman in the story, Sandy, grows tired of the dull routine of her life, and the distance in her relationship, and starts giving in to her impulses, following her fantasies.
I can just imagine the reaction when the suburban mom, who grew up on Judy Blume and is now in her forties, picks up the latest Judy Blume novel for her twelve year old daughter.
Betrayed!
Like seeing a new Darren on "Bewitched" without any explanation.
Like a new Becky Conner replacing Lecy Goranson with Sarah Chalke.
(insert your own TV trivia here....)
I am sure the reaction is the same any time our friends and family see us doing something they didn't expect - or worse, not doing something they've always expected. Especially without checking it out first. The railing and wailing that follows unapproved changes is done merely to convince us that our decison is a wrong one, and to keep peace we must go back and do what is expected of us - by the very people who are wailing and railing. Behaviour modification by lecturing and shunning.
I am fortunate. I exist in a comfortable personal world where innovation and risk are cautiously encouraged. I would not be doing what I am doing if that were not so.
Others around me are not so lucky. Their attempts to be good, to go along, to acquiesce, are followed closely by chest pains and bouts of heavy drinking.
I see them as the pack mules to somebody else's journey.
Now before you go getting any notions about my reading habits, remember i taught Elementary school for eight years. I became well acquainted with Judy Blume as a result. And no, I have not read her adult novel, nor do I have the intention to do so. I do applaud her willingness to step outside and follow her impulse.
"What a strange machine man is! You fill him with bread, wine, fish, and radishes, and out comes sighs, laughter, and dreams." Nikos Kazantzakis (1885-1957), Greek novelist.
The message here, folks, is if you are not laughing, if you've stopped dreaming, you are not really living.
I like this one as well:
"Creative minds have been known to survive any sort of bad training." Anna Freud, The Ego and the Mechanisms of Defense, 1946. Music time Right on theme: A very classy version of "Dreams" by the Corrs, featuring Mick Fleetwood. Mick is no Carimine Appice, but he is a quality drummer with a distinctive sound. and.... Steve Earle's "Galway Girl" her hair was black and her eyes were blue....
later
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Even when Michael Jordan won the '98 Finals on what everyone believed was his final shot ever, he famously shoved Utah's Bryon Russell to the ground before launching that jumper. No whistle.
- Bill Simmons, ESPN Page 2
People who know me well know how delighted i am at this very moment. Well, not delighted, more like righteously justified. After the NBA ref scandal hit I now wonder how many games are (and have been) fixed.
the point is simple - once one event in the league is suspect it immediately brings into question every other suspicious outcome. and not just for this year.
A fisherman friend of my dad once told me he didn't watch professional sports because every game is fixed.
He watched Wrestling. it was fixed, too, but they didn't pretend it wasn't, and he found that ironic honesty rather refreshing.
