Will anyone weed through the plot? Where’s the Lawn Ranger when you need him. (Image ©)
(Que the Jaw’s theme song here)
Unstoppable invasion. It laughs at the Game of Thrones’ Wall. Heart-shaped leaves do not mean the vine is foolishly green behind the weird.
Not even sharp edgers can curb the persistent reach of tendril scouts.
Fearless of dog paws and cat dumps.
Give this acid green vine water and it grows. Deprive it of water and it grows even more.
Obviously the other flowers in the esplanade are flushed with fury, but what defense can the perturbed Pentas possibly pose?
Some role must wait the lone Vinca, a sole survivor of a previous season. She’s either surrounded, trapped, or foolish.
The soft white petaled one to be offered up as virgin sacrifice to the approaching intruders?
A high priestess protected by devoted followers
A cherished princess who inspires such loyalty that subjects are willing to risk even the impossible.
Or feared dictator that none dare cross.
Enlightened stem who hopes the idea to coexist will take root by example. Live and let live. (Doesn’t know how things grow.)
Extreme individual naively waiting for “Beam me up, Scotty”
Certainly not the Garden of Eden, yet hauntingly familiar
Such an odd fractal
Phil, the Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge
Along with the Jaws theme, this one crossed my mind. One of my ancient aunts was an elementary school teacher who adored this song. She taught it to all her little students and they sang it on stage wearing flower faces for their parents during PTO/PTO meetings. Possibly scarring them for life.
Grocery store parking lot late afternoon before Cindy gets her act together and decides whether it’s Door # 1, 2, or Door # 3 on Wed.. She hasn’t bothered to say exactly what her ETA is – or how long she plans to stay. Unannounced guests are such a bother. You have to run to the store to buy what you’d better have stocked up before they arrive. Once they arrive, they make it very difficult to leave the house – even if to pick up that vital item forgotten earlier – like toilet paper. People remember the flats of water, cat food, chips and beer, but forget the extra toilet paper. Arrrrgh! “While you’re sloshing out there, get some cat litter, too – and keep it dry on the way home!..and more chips and chocolate!” (No permissions granted for image. ©)
Surf’s up.Pictured is last nights’ grocery store view.
It is dawning on even the newbies here: the Tropical Storm Cindy is finally making her move.
Clear Lake, some 50 miles from Galveston’s coastline, is under storm warning with landfall expected tonight – A bit east of us.
We are on the NW “drier” side of this one, so normally that means lots of gusty strong winds (Hope your trees’ crowns have been trimmed to allow winds to blow through), bands of rain with flooding in normal low spots and streets periodically, high tides flooding some coastal and great surf. (Headaches for the beach patrol)
What everyone fears may come true: loss of power
Seriously, in 100 degree heat some bird seeking justice for wind turbine and solar panels in migration routes kamikazes into a power substation and shut down power to a big chunk of people.
If a bird can have that effect, what chance does the grid have against a blustery, bullying, stormy lady?
Those that know history are in motion.
The day before the Great 1900 Storm was a misleading siren: beautiful blue sky, welcomed cool winds. They didn’t suspect anything. Only to have the hurricane unleash fury that night. (News photos of aftermath here , story to the single most deadly event in US which left between 6,000 and 12,000 dead here.)
Hurricane Carla sat out in the Gulf and gained strength before slowly sauntering inland n her own good time – and storming forever: hours and hours and hours or heavy rain. I remember watching the water inch up towards the house. My job was to watch with towels ready incase it started seeping under the door. So soggy one the roots of one tall elm let go and the tree slowly sank to the ground. Fortunately away from both ours and our neighbor’s house. We watched forever it seemed. (But did run out during the eye and run around the front yard while Dad kept watch on the sky.) Interesting vintage TV news footage of Hurricane Carla:
Every Cindy I’ve ever known was an airhead ditz, so I’m wary.
That darn recycle bin truck better make it quick today. Everyone’s piled stuff out and it will all easily float/blow. There will be enough weird unidentified floating objects surging into lake and bay after the storm.
Rats! Tomorrow is garbage day. Bet pickup will be interrupted. Rats, I say again.
Dawns on me that the wind chimes better be taken down. No need for spooky chiming effects like a horror film.
(It’s an early spring storm and really not expected to be a big deal: don’t worry, but don’t be caught by surprise…..so only a short walk down the beach today.)
It’s the way the wind blows.
Phil, the Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge.
Dawn before Tropical Storm Cindy as Molly Malamute enjoys walking in the cool north winds. We will have rain bands like this all day – alternating with bright clear blue skies. Walk while you can!( © All image rights reserved.)
There they are. Moms conspiring to keep their kids busy and quiet at mealtimes.(USPD,1927/Commons.wikimedia.org)
Alphabet soup never lived up to expectations.
A hoax foistered off on little kids. No secret messages from this world or another.
In this day of tweets and texts, no one really expects – or wants – a bowl full of novel length classics anyway.
Those easily amused can get a few laughs by reading too much or too little into things like the following:
“Danish Space Corporation”: company sign on a building not far from here.
All I could think of was launches of sleek teak . Clean lines in space travels. Sounds like a solid tagline.
Still, someone else said “Nothing like white icing to sweeten space in the morning.”
“Driving smart, vehicle recalls”: a recent banner across the bottom of the TV screen.
Cars have already reached awareness with AI? Sounds like this one has already reviewed it’s memory and data, reached a conclusion, and would like recognition for it’s driving skills. A participation trophy, at the very least.
Uber drivers are mumbling about headless car competition while others are worried that these demands by the autonomous cars for skill recognition and awards is only the beginning…
Strange days.
Early version of “Beam me up, Scotty.” This 1940’s radio acted like speakers for GE TV sets according to the circle. This wordy ad wouldn’t be effective today. Horribly hot here, so the hunt is on to for cool amusements.(Haupt/Commons.wikmedia.org)
“Space pants for Earth”: breathlessly read by a news anchor
Weird in so many ways.
It has to be really, really hot to make dogs and people pant – and space is supposed to be ice cold, so what’s got it all hot and bothered? Earth being such a rare jewel suggests reason to worry. Black holes can swallow galaxies. Spaced out Hubble says so.
Oh, actually Space pants are really healthy. Makes sense only if you do well with pressure.
Pressures on now that Summer’s here.
As they say, “Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.”
The sun sets slower around solstices (June 20/21). The additional baking time not always beneficial
Certainly maddening
Better to simmer and sip cold Gazpacho Andaluz than misleading Alphabet soup.
Darn soup never did spell things out right. ( And I blame its’ poor tutoring for my inability to spell.)
Phil, the Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge
“Mom! It’s fruit. It has to be nutritious. They couldn’t print it if it wasn’t true.” Perception is still everything. (USPD/Commons.wikimedia.org)
We’re not sure if what he picks up of the world is the same as what we do. (LoC/USPD/Commons.wikimedia.org)
Henry is an odd bird.
Discussion mulls whether a dimwit or savant.
Certainly appears to be a devote of Close Encounters – attempting to reach out.
A Forest Gump type of guy.
Or maybe even more simple: He’s a living breathing WALL-E.
We see him every afternoon. He waits.
Molly Malamute is quietly please and thinks he waits for her – a secret admirer. (Families would keep them apart – like Romeo and Juliet).
He stands so still as we pass in the sidewalk. Is that hope in his wide eyes?
Out of the corner of our eye, we see him following – at a discreet distance…until we pick up the pace towards home. For a bit Henry will try to keep up. There’s something desperate – a loneliness in his posture.
Molly smiles to herself and looks back, but we discourage any encouragement from her.
He’s not your kind.
We worry a bit about him as he looks so young – and crosses streets without looking. Did he leave home too soon and now regrets? Yearning for the nagging and being lectured, “It’s dinner. Eat that or nothing.”
Won’t someone take him in?
He’s not afraid of working the yard. Looks dashing lounging in the landscape.
Henry obviously needs some direction…or an attentive waiter.
“Oh, Henry! It’s January. Baby, isn’t your mother calling?” Young crane closely examining rose bush in neighbor’s yard. Quite unperturbed by dog or human, he sometimes walks right towards you as if considering asking for directions or a snack. (© image)
Birds of his feather should flock together – over in the wetlands or lake.
We think Henry is a Yellow-crowned Night Heron. (Audubon Field Guide here/pictures) which would account for his greeting us at dusk near the landscape lights that draw insects, frogs lured by the sprinklers, and fish of the lake a few hops away. We’ve seen him perched in the oak trees. Henry is dressed for success in snazzy head feather complimenting elaborately detailed wing feathers.
Oh, Henry. Hope you’re a simply loner and not lonely.
Phil, the Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge.
“Hey, where did everybody go?” Looks like Henry. (Sky99/Commons.wikimedia.org)
Advocates of “every thought that crosses your brain doesn’t have to cross your lips”, dogs are silent on a good many things.
“Silence is a source of great strength.”(Lao Tzu/USPD/Commons.wikimedia.org)
Dog wonders:
- Why does staff keep shoveling dirt back into in that hole? Just going to dig it out again. Certainly slowing the Mexican Fan palm root trim by teeth project.
- Why doesn’t the cat realize I am standing on her tail until she gets up to move? Anyone touch-a-mah tail and I am instantly aware of it.
- Why doesn’t staff of the French Bulldog across the street get him a skateboard to ride on during outings. I realize he’s a gazillion years old, yet still kicking, but he’s beginning to look like a Star Wars character as he lists side to side on stiff legs down the sidewalk. I always hurry to give him gentle sniff to make sure Chin’s really real and not departed, stuffed, and motorized. Staff keeps muttering about making him a sling walker assist device.
- Why does the small Medina palm have a death wish? Is the poor thing so unhappy with being forced to wear a coat in winter that it has chosen suicide by dog? There is no other explanation for fronds smacking a pup in the face whenever I runs past. Sooner or later Staff won’t be around to intervene between had-enough-clinched-dog-jaws and foolish frond.
- Why did those people steal my neighbor’s car out of his driveway? He’s retired; his wife still works. He takes care of his grandkids while their divorced mom works. He’s kind and gives great dog pets. Those thieves should get a job and buy their own car. Appears The Village didn’t raise them very well. Wolves would have done better: obey pack laws or else.
Dog watches – with wonders.
Super dog.
Phil, the Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge.
“There.You heard that? Whispering. Palms plotting their next move. Call the landscapers!”(USPD/Commons.wikimedia.org)
“We see nothing funny about this. Oh, one must click over? Of all the nerve. Insisting effort must be made on Our part. Dunderheads.” (Image ©)
Of advanced degrees (“wait til things pick up…”), age discrimination (“56 in cat years”), and “accidents causing loss of limbs”
Quite chasing your tale and saunter over to “Summer Jobs for Cats”.
More delicious than stepping on a fresh hairball early in the morning.
Phil, the Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge
While the individual seemed small and easy to manage, the reality is quite different. The employment wording so benign. The initiated wouldn’t touch that one either polecat.
Cat walker needed.
“If the ‘fluffy’ excuse doesn’t work for one, it doesn’t work for all,” complained Molly Malamute who is already on reduced rations due to sluggishness in summer’s heat. So, with the astute wisdom of a dog, Molly took the job: “Win-win,” she grinned.
Apparently she caught the Belmont yesterday.
There is a reasonable facsimile track in the house which may not have the length, but has an added level of complexity with obstacles like bar stools, dining tables, foot stools and ladders in use for projects.
Nothing like thrills for heart pounding aerobics.
Cartwheels used to be the measure of fitness.
Cartwheels: attempting to defy nature and gravity. Possible on land or water. (Tanya Little/Flickr/Commons.wikimedia.org)
The crew of Peter Burling’s Emirates Team New Zealand demonstrated a textbook sailboat cartwheel on June 6th in Bermuda’s waters.
Pitchpoled after driving too hard and allowing the nose of the hulls to dig too far under water. (video and pictures here)
Not as bad as it sounds. Notice part of the crew stayed high and dry. Boat did get some damaged.
On smaller ones, you untangle yourself, dump water out of the sail (if it’s a traditional one, not like the America’s Cup sails), lift the top of the mast out of the mud if it’s stuck, then flip lines over the hull in the sky, and, using body weight and assorted curses, haul the darn thing back into upright into sailing position – and off to continue the race.
It’s a little more difficult with the America’s Cups catamarans, but the same concept….only this was on camera and in the 35th Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Challengers Playoffs.
Sailing history was made on Friday when Emirates Team New Zealand sailed the entire racecourse up on the foils.
The catamaran was like a graceful barefoot girl flying down a hill with her hair flowing behind. Such delight.
Tremendous amount of skill and practice involved. Well deserved applause and congrats Kiwi.
Races continue Sunday. Just like the Formula One of sailing. Keep afloat with all the news here.
And now back to the races, here….
Molly is proposing a swimming pool in the backyard – as a step towards in-house Ironman Triathlon events. Digging and burying being natural alternatives for bicycling for both cats and dogs.
We have discouraged competitive ladder climbs into the attic – which they happily agreed to since it’s a kazillion degrees up there. (Games humans play. So odd, the two agree.)
Drag race in progress…on the water, up the ladder, and all paws at warp speed.
Phil, the Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge.
Lined up against the wind and gathering storm. (Image © )
For the “He who laughs last, laughs best” award, this smokes the room:
Ya’ know the Europeans brought epidemics and disease to the Americas. And in fair trade, indigenous residents handed over tobacco.
Guess they were patiently thinking long-term. Tobacco is still killing Europeans.
Slow and steady wins the race.
For best emotionally stirring, but now meaningless, buzz phrase: “We want justice”
So, exactly what is it that you want?
You want the individual caught, arrested, put in jail, put on trial, tossed in a cell and the key thrown away? A chance to get up on the stage and get applauded for saying how much you forgive them for whatever. Want someone to physically pound them to a pulp so they know what pain is? Want to file a lawsuit? Maybe demanding new law be written or an old one changed. Maybe only that existing laws be enforced? Is the intended message simply “Stop killing”?
Figure it out and get back with us. Specifically.
We’d be interested then.
Meanwhile stop with the overused “justice”.
It’s like walking into Baskin Robins and yelling out “ice cream” while the counter help looks up and wonders what specific flavor you want.
For the best new Summer Social Event: marches.
Oh, actually, if people were really honest, some of the 60’s campus protesters were there to be cool, to see and be seen, and to find cute dates. Social consciousness and strength of conviction in the face of tear gas were pretty attractive. “Intellectual” individuals were fashionable along with smudged, common man working jeans.
Similar now: People coming together because.
Although most without any bothersome understanding of NVR history, Gandhi, or Thoreau.
One small caution: unpredictable mobs can be such a painful first date.
Simply the most worldly of philosophers? “I made a study of the ancient and indispensable art of bread-making,..” Henry David Thoreau.(USPD/Commons.wikimedia.org)
Oh, well. That’s a deep subject.
I’ll forgive you if you don’t get that joke…probably didn’t grow up with Mad Magazine, much less Rocky J. Squirrel or pronoun antecedents.
Everything old is new again, it appears.
Eventually written relics by great thinkers will be rediscovered.
The insights repeated…if anyone can figure out how to concisely shrink them into a 140 character Tweet. Life is busy, you know.
“The squirrel that you kill in jest, dies in earnest.” (Thoreau)
“As if you could kill time without injuring eternity.” (Thoreau)
Someone will get it.
Phil, the Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge.
- “In human intercourse the tragedy begins, not when there is misunderstanding about words, but when silence is not understood.”
- “The language of friendship is not words but meanings.”
- “If you can speak what you will never hear, if you can write what you will never read, you have done rare things.”
- “Nothing goes by luck in composition. It allows of no tricks. The best you can write will be the best you are.”
- “That government is best which governs least.”
- “What is the use of a house if you haven’t got a tolerable planet to put it on?”
- “The Indian…stands free and unconstrained in Nature, is her inhabitant and not her guest, and wears her easily and gracefully. But the civilized man has the habits of the house. His house is a prison.”
- Henry David Thoreau, who enjoyed living in a holler, has more to say about writing, nature, government, clothing, and being vegetarian here and here.
Oh, for the path less traveled. (Image © )
Black with white stripes. Just like a skunk.
It’s been the stinker of the closet forever.
Between the stripes and multitude of fuzzy snags in the shiny fabric, I always felt a bit like this.(Kevin Bowman/Commons.wikimedia.org)
Of polyester fabric that doesn’t absorb stains and dries instantly. Any liquid just beads up and runs off.(Leads you to suspect “washing” it is more like hosing off a car windshield.)
A vintage jogging suit: jacket with mashed plastic zipper teeth which won’t zip and pants with zippered pockets too small for a cell phone. Both featuring parallel white stripes down the sides.
Relic of shame, I know.
Why is it still around. A fan of organic material, never wore it much when new.
Then it became valuable for July 4th.
Not because of colorblind patriotism or loyalty to “Made in America”
It’s the long sleeves and long pants.
You see, I’m really really allergic to mosquito bites and, of course, attract them like crazy.
Growing up my mom was forever worried people would think I had Impetigo which is highly contagious. (And I think she worried more that others seeing her spotted child would consider her a bad mother.)
Desperate, she coated, sprayed, dabbed me with every mosquito repellent known.
I’m probably evidence that constant and long-term exposure to Deep Woods Off or DEET is survivable.
I swear that Deep Woods Off smell is absorbed deep into cell structure forever.
Too bad it didn’t deter mosquitoes.
Where’s a Super-Patriot Space Detective bug zapper when he’s needed? (1947 cover art: Grahman Ingels/USPD/Commons.wikimedia.org)
Now the mosquito defense of choice is covering up.
Never a wrinkle with the old jogger suit.
Oh, a few more fuzzy snags each year, but it’s usually not noticeable in the dark when it’s time for fireworks.
Careful to keep a distance from firework sparks, though.
Worried about getting hot, hot, hot and melting in more ways than one.
Keeping the thread.
Phil, the Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge.
After days and days of rain, the summer buzz has arrived..
- “Almost no risk of Zika epidemic in. Texas, except in these 3 places.”
- “Cost of Zika virus in America could run into the billions”
- “State wants drugmaker to set an affordable price for Zika Vaccine” (NPR)
- “Queensland researchers have found a way to kill the Zika virus using compounds found in an Australian native plant.” (Australian Associated Press)
- “New insights into how the Zika virus causes microcephaly” (Science Daily)
What me worry? I’ve got skunk suit.(1910 postcard that inspired Mad Magazine’s Alfred E. Newman/ USPD/Commons.wikimedia.org)
Counter attacks being planned?(USPD/Commons.wikimedia.org)
Smacks of a cartoon sketch. Maybe one featuring Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd. Yosemite Sam. SNL.
What’s more fun than going hog wild? Partying with wild hog hunting from a hot air balloon.
Guns and balloons. You can’t make this stuff up.
It’ll be legal in Texas as soon as the Gov. signs HB3535.
Yep, indeedy. Usin’ that darn helicopter to hunt hogs is no longer trendy.
The sky-high powered vantage point worked for a while, but the hogs quickly figured out that the whop-whop noise meant run for cover in the brush thicket.
Helicopter hog hunting brings in tourist dollars, but has become less effective in solving the feral hog problem.
First adopters are already huffing and puffing getting ready for the start of balloon sneak attacks.
Will the hot air balloon option alter the hog hunts’ image from slaughter to a more elegant, refined even, experience?
Certainly worked for camping. Went from roughing it to Glamping it.
Extreme makeover for hog hunting. Bound to win new high-powered, well-heeled aficionados. (USPD/commons.wikimedia.org)
I can already envision the glossy perfume-style ads on TV and in magazines:
Lift off in romantic style into the quiet sky and watch as the land glides beneath under you. (Just watch the power lines and keep an eye on the winds and buildup of thunderclouds…)
No longer will participants have to wear those unattractive, hair style crushing, bulky ear coverings. (Refined cool is not simply compatible with hard clamshell ear muffs.)
Surely there will be room for retro wicker picnic baskets full of cucumber sandwiches, delicate cheeses, chilled wines, and fine napkins. (A whole new industry of provisioning for balloon hunting might actually fly. Call up Shark Tank now.)
Assist the Parks and Wildlife department in the effort to eliminate a non-indigenous species damaging native plants as well as valuable habitats. (Almost sounds environmentally friendly, right? Much more genteel than “Die, obnoxious piggies, die!” )
Finally. Style and elegance returns to flight. (So much like an arcade game: if you miss your shot, simply drop the anchor on the hog.)(USPD/Commons.wikimedia.org)
The flighty idea might sound humorous, and maybe not perfect, but it’s better than the original suggestion of tossing poisonous bait everywhere.
But don’t sell the piggies short. Bet they tune into to this new threat quickly, too. (Piggy voices, “Up in the sky, look: It’s a bird. It’s a plane. No, it’s balloon hunters. Run.”)
Up. Up. And away.
Phil, the Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge.
Read more?
- “New spin on. helicopter hog hunting” (2011)
- “Just odd: Hogs, Helicopters. Fine Dining” (Sept.2011)
- “Texas silencing guns?” (2012)
- “Hog-dini. Zombie hogs. Real wild.” (2013)
- “Killing Bacon” (2017) Poison turned out not to be the final solution.
(Postcard.1945. US Hwy 71. Prize Drive of the Ozarks/USPD/Commons,wikimedia.org)
Ah, the anticipation with the approach of a corner.
Blindly assuming the road goes on as predicted.
But what if….
- maybe there’s a dinosaur
- maybe there’s a time warp gate
- maybe there’s an 18 wheelers dueling with a underpowered, but self-confident car
- or maybe, miracle of miracles, a Starbucks and a bathroom.
We can dream.
Fuzzy? Why yes, I am. But that doesn’t explain what is going on down there.©
Cornering takes skill – which can be practiced just about anywhere.
Although the results of actions can vary with season and location.
Indoor cornering is a bit like training wheels on bikes.
Unless performed in a chair utilizing a hard back book with their multiple corners, flips, and turns. Then it’s more like freewheeling with pages.
It’s a calculated risk, cornering.
- Will everything stay on track?
- Is there a point of no return?
- A roll of the dice. Proceed or no.
Roll? Did someone say on a roll? Nothing like making use of an odd smell on the ground when no one is looking. Dog yoga: Be one with the smells.©
Nothing like a long weekend and going round the bend with a few DIY projects.
Those, as anyone knows, would have always been approached differently if only what lay beyond was known before. HA HA
Checking all angles
Phil, the Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge.
While some can’t wait for the ring of the boxing world, others feel quite the opposite.
Yesterday they spilled out like Colorado rapids over boulders.
To be met by parents weeping. Obviously with joy of having their young home 24-7.
A time of so much joy that some have installed celebratory water features – just like airports and seaports gush large water plumes across runways or harbors to welcome celebrities and heroes.
A welcome worthy of the Unboxing celebration ©
So touching.
The giant lumbering yellow transport boxes have wandered off to wherever they hibernate until fall. Once again the morning serenade only features birds and those growling lawn hackers and blasting hand-held haboob machines.
Summer is here.
And it makes Us sleepy…and wishing for something….
We have heard sardines or anchovies make a perfect light summer snack. Tributes, not forgotten, but a little seasonal variation might be looked upon considerable interest. They may be placed on your left as you exit. Ah, yes, well done! How well trained kind you are. A gracious paw wave for your conditioned response consideration.
Adieu, mon ami
I am RC Cat and I approve this message.
Confused about Boxing Day and Unboxing Season? RC Cat has a post for that…
- “Dangers for the Unboxed. RC issues warning.” (Warning for the unboxed and their parents, June, 2014)
- “Boxing Day already?” (July, 2013)
- “End of Slumber” (Unboxing, June 2013)
Gossip and small talk. Simply work avoidance. Maybe if the coffee machine somehow broke, they would get the hint. (USPD/ Commons.wikimedia.org)
She made several abrupt appearances into the coffee-room. The office manager.
Not saying a word. Just a stomp in, a glare before flipping around, and leaving. Miffed.
We stopped talking, but didn’t move.
Amused.
“Shall we count to see just how many times she’ll do it?”
Some are on-the-dot clock watchers. Some casually ease into the day.
Each office seems to have a self-appointed overseer and nag.
Probably wanted to be an elementary school dictator principal.
Probably was the tattletale the teacher told “Tell me if anyone gets out of their seat while I’m gone.”
It was up to three.
I had bet it would be a couple more, but everyone drifted off after her fourth haunting and paraded down the hall in her wake.
She looked quite smug. A conqueror’s body language.
Surprised she didn’t give a precise royal wave as she passed doorways.
A real Queen be.
One last nonchalant circle to confirm all were in their assigned seats working at their desks before she sighed satisfaction from the effort.
Her work done, she curled up on the window seat for her morning cat nap.
How would they manage without her?
Not sure we would. (Cats are such tough taskmasters.)
Phil, the Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge
Staff must not be allowed to take advantage.©
The dog cannot be counted on at all for herding the help. Why do they call them Watch Dogs? Obviously they do not consider the time passing at all.©
It’s over, so get ready for the blank stares of non-comprehension.
What amuses changes. Jerks the rugs of meaning right out from under.
Language will need updating now that the circus no longer coming to town.
Elvis Presley and girlfriend at the time, Anita Wood, on a carnival ferris wheel. (1960) Elvis supposedly sang as a circus entertainer before he was famous, but haven’t been able to verify. He did play a carnie in the film Roustabout. How to explain that whole thing? (USPD/Commons.wikimedia.org)
Common phrases won’t have to be updated immediately, but consider what alterations may be necessary
Political circus – Could “Political rave” replace? A subculture. An immense dance with loud electronics, sometimes visual effects, fog machines, and performances. Either the noun or verb sounds like a possibility.
Media circus – What else can compare? Media madness? That’s about right in so many ways.
Big top – Oh, my. Social justice warriors will complain busty women are being ridiculed.
Clowns. And what about clowns? “Clowns are the pegs on which the circus is hung.” (P. T. Barnum). Orphans now. Homeless. Will clowns scrape a meager existence from children’s parties, horror movies, or politics? Not sure which is scarier.
The energy, the whimsical sparkling chaos of circuses permeated common speech and print: for humor, for emotion, for satire, for allusions, for symbolism.
In the words of I Love Lucy, a bit of ‘splaining may be needed to clue in future generations.
Any ideas how to translate these timeless gems?
- “Just cause you got the monkey off your back doesn’t mean the circus has left town.” George Carlin
- “Next to a circus there ain’t nothing that packs up and tears out any quicker than the Christmas spirit” American cartoonist/humorist Kin Hubbard
- “Time is a circus, always packing up and moving away.” American writer Ben Hecht
- “Marriage is a good deal like a circus: there is not as much in it as is represented in the advertising.” American novelist, E. W. Howe
- “What a circus act we women perform every day of our lives. Look at us. We run a tightrope daily, balancing a pile of books on the head. Baby-carriage, parasol, kitchen chair, still under control. Steady now! This is not the life of simplicity but the life of multiplicity that the wise men warn us of.” Aviator, author Anne Morrow Lindbergh
- “But the soul of touring and the heart of it is basically every day is like putting up a circus tent.” Musician Pat Benatar
- “Commas in The New Yorker fall with the precision of knives in a circus act, outlining the victim.” Author E. B. White
- “I’ll continue to try and balance like a circus act. And I will just fight to always tell the truth. Even if it’s difficult.” Musician Katy Perry
- ‘There is a circus around politics. But if you think it is a game, then you forget what the purpose of politics actually is.” Scottish politician Johann Lamont
- “Every country gets the circus it deserves. Spain gets bullfights. Italy the Church. America Hollywood.” American novelist Erica Jong
- “The circus is a jealous wench. Indeed that is an understatement. She is a ravening hag who sucks your vitality as a vampire drinks blood – who kills the brightest stars in her crown and will allow no private life for those who serve her; wrecking their homes, ruining their bodies, and destroying the happiness of their loved ones by her insatiable demands. She is all of these things, and yet, I love her as I love nothing else on earth.” Henry Ringing North in the book The Circus Kings: Our Ringling Family Story)
No more dancing horses, roaring lions, or that smell of sawdust mixed with cotton candy and popcorn, but hope we can find a way for the circus uninitiated to comprehend this:
“Keep the circus going inside you, keep it going, don’t take anything too seriously, it’ll all work out in the end.” Actor David Niven
Anachronisms can be fun.
Phil, the Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge.
Borrowed his hairstyle from Elvis. Actor Christopher Walken actually did work as a lion tamer in a small circus as a teenager. Guess it prepared him for Hollywood. His circus quote here. (Flickr/John Harrison/PD/Commons.wikimedia.org)
Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge 