Wednesday, July 18, 2012

in my newspaper today

Some guy in Portland, Oregon took a dead rodent out of a stray cat's mouth, a cat with which he had no personal relationship and now he is infected with bubonic plague, the same bacterium that wiped out one third of Europe in the    14th century.  I'm not quite sure why he wanted that putrid mouse but now he's in critical condition, of course he is.  Is anybody besides me scared by the level of stupidity out there? These people drive on the same streets my grandchildren cross and some of them may actually take the time to vote.  We're all going to hell in a teacup, whatever that means.

And then I read about the Flying Wallenda family and they are famous not for their choice of work clothes which would be sequin-studded spandex but their choice of career. For seven generations these kids have been manning trapezes in the circus arena leaping and jumping into each others' arms.  And you wear khakis to your job and stare at a computer screen all day.  There is a downside to this career choice as demonstrated by Grandpa Wally when he fell to his death from that same trapeze. If someone is calling you Grandpa you need a safety net, old fellow. The latest star in the Wallenda sky is young Nik who plans to walk the tight rope across Niagra Falls. And I am grateful I was born into a family that finds fulfillment by refinishing furniture.  We prefer to be close to the ground, boring but essential to continuing good health.

"Being on a tightrope is living. Everything else is waiting," says deceased Grandpa Wallenda.

And now from the Financial Q&A column "My 80-year-old mother had a living trust done years ago specifying that all assets be divided equally among her five children. My sister and a deceased brother got my mother to take out several loans  blah blah blah. . ."  I gotta give this deceased brother credit for proving that not only can you take it with you, you can get even more after you've crossed that great divide. I'm just sayin' . . .

The newspaper would be a lot more interesting if that Calvin & Hobbes guy hadn't retired.

1 comment:

AmySueRose said...

That Portland man should receive the Brian Setzer Animal Kindness Award for he was attempting to help the stray cat.