“Oh, stop with ‘The sky is falling. The sky is falling.’ No longer motivational.” (Russian Easter postcard ca.1917/USPD/Commons.wikimedia.org)
“Faster. The gator’s gaining.”
Alternative: “Make waves or else. The Threat Advisory Scale for Easter chicks and ducklings has been seasonally elevated.”
Fluff is in high demand these days.
Talk about quackers. This could mean a boat load of trouble: Dodge punches the start with their new 840 horsepower muscle car.
The Dodge Demon is “the first production car able to accelerate so hard it can lift its front wheels off the pavement” – for a distance of about 3 feet…video/read more here)
All I can see is high school boys anxious to see who can keep the wheels up the longest. Competition will be fierce and loud. Viral videos.
We’re probably lucky there’s only going to be a limited number of the cars made and dealers are already marking up the purchase prices…which means the “theft by request” incidents will probably rise along with those wheels.
One place where any of those stolen car probably won’t be going is Sweden.
One veteran journalist has proposed banning cars there to keep the public safe from terrorists.
Not sure if that particular reason will mean a car-free Stockholm, but coupled last month’s concerns about carbon emissions and the gender equality issue (What?), you just never know how things will role.
Typical holiday family affair. “How much longer?” “I need to potty” “Who ate the breakfast burritos?” (ca.1917 Russian Easter card/USPD/Commons.wikimedia.org)
This Easter holiday, many are avoiding ruffled feathers caused by flying and traveling by car instead.
Nothing like a family road trip for making those “We’ll never let you forget this” memories.
Got some warm memories of travel food? Mom always packed apple slices and carrot sticks. Warm ones. No cooler up front.
Lunch predictably was warm, canned tuna sandwiches on white bread served at a roadside park.
But we had a red checkered plastic table cloth – which flapped like crazy. “You can eat with one hand. Hold that corner down.” We shall not discuss the rough concrete benches with unidentified sticky stains.
I can still feel the grit pelted from passing cars.
Road trips now today offer much more options: chain restaurants one after another.
Crossing the Colorado state line couldn’t come quickly enough: Colorado had Carl Jr’s.
Recently Carl Jr’s put their sexy food spokesmodels under wraps. Bowing to social media pressure or just time to move on? “Skin is no longer in”.
The new advertising campaign featuring the return of the “founder” may be brilliant. A rugged Carl Hardee Sr strides into corporate to reclaim his office and to kick out his son while workers carry off the super model pictures. Followed by vintage memories of the company’s earlier years.
We’ll see if it keeps people traveling along with them and makes their female customers happy.
Meanwhile whatever your choice of dining or travel, may you have a good Friday and a hoppy Easter.
Phil, the Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge
Not sure which is creepier: the clowns or this whole scene as a marketing piece for soap. (Victorian trade card for Acme soap/ USPD/commons,wikimedia.org)
Not what you want to see next to you on morning commute. Quick roll up the window or risk mud in your eye. With all the road construction and rain, this might be tempting, but it’s a bit extreme for a daily driver, yet there they are.(Travelchannel.com)
How these get a pass is anyone’s guess. Obviously, the guys are not treading quietly or lightly. Boldly muddy the water, and everything else.
How the high and mighty stall when the highway patrol spots a commercial truck without functional mud flaps.
Yet the off road enthusiasts drive past ticket free.
Seriously. With tires sticking far outside the fenders, fenders miniaturized or totally gone, and with deep tread all the way to the edges of the tires slinging gunk everywhere?
Oh, It’s a sport. Totally excused.
Sorry. Couldn’t see that for all the mud flipped on the windshield.
On a clear day or in a clear pool, you can see quite a bit of Houston from the trendy pools.
Definition of open water?
There’s the glass bottomed sky pool at the Market Street Towers hanging over the edge of the 43rd floor like the sky bridge over the Grand Canyon. Look up to see a bit of the skyline, tan lines, with tug free swimsuits advisable.
Rather insist your afternoon water play is educational? Study your geography with water wings in the Marriott Marquis rooftop infinity pool and lazy river flowing in the shape of Texas.
Yes, there is a bridge or two over untroubled waters
River tubing is big in Texas.
Doesn’t have to be very warm for the locals to stow plastic bag luggage and head to the river.
Depending on the season’s weather, local rivers like New Braunfels‘ Comal offer as much thrills as those in Colorado.
Might want to avoid the Spring weekend crowds which tend to get a bit rowdy with more than a few inebriated participants. Cover the kiddies ears and their eyes occasionally. (Hey, they’ve seen worse on TV and in movies.)
So offering a Disney-ized version, the Marriott Marquis gets visitors flowing with local color – mud free!
Bound to be the choice of water marks who are attracted by the naiads and not deterred by cannonballs. (The splashy into the pool cannonballs – not the ammunition. I know it’s Texas, but really. Let it go.)
Unseen below, the stuck-in-the-mud commuters are just trying to get home.
Phil, the Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge
Look at that. Rudely sticking out it’s tongue. Arrogance in ebony. It needs to re-tire to be civil. (Pininterest)
Gonna be a rude awakening.
He’s just tooooo busy to pick up the message. But the remodelers are coming. Soon.
Soooo Lazy Peter, strolling arrogantly down your spiral staircase, might want to wipe the sleep out of your eyes while stretching on your lofty balcony and take a look around.
More age appropriate than mom’s place, Peter. (Cube Square Facebook)
Time to leave the cozy nest.
(Peeease don’t start with the excuses “Poppa was an absentee father. A real squirrel…”)
Your mom set you up for success.
She knew quality real estate when she saw it: great tree top views, unobstructed cool prevailing winds, neighborhood featuring elevated walkways, and only a hop skip and a jump to the Queen Palm grocery store or the rain fed bird bath.
The others already headed off to see the world. (We hope they look both ways before crossing the street.)
Your tail makes a scruffy smoking jacket, but the cocky attitude makes up for it.
Dude, go for it. Your home squatting days here are coming to an end.
Other places have balconies, too. Although their spiral stairs may not be quite so rustic. ©
I know there’s always complaining when things change in neighborhoods, but it’s time.
The palm trees are anxious to shed their heavy insulating winter frond skirts. Desiring spring greens rather than dull brown winter attire.
The tree trimmers are coming.
Considered yourself warned. Again.
Can’t leaf with them.
Phil, the Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge
Alternative housing suggestions, Peter?
- Cube Square reinvents tiny living craze with shipping container apartments (VIDEO of finished apartments. 540 square feet stacks up well. Balconies! Granite. Close to university. Less than $600. a month.)
- Cube Square Facebook page (more pictures and videos)
Well trained since 1906. (USPD/Commons.wikimedia.org) Any idea how hard it is not to say something about cat ‘n’ boots? It’s funny. I saw you smother that laugh.
Spring bounce with rapid fryer remarks.
Mold that much?
Wonder if our bathroom has any long-term earning potential. Think of it as rent contribution by occupant.
Celebrity mold. Got to respect the aged.
“90-year-old mold sold for $14,617″ Oh, it comes with a note. And saved a bunch of people’s lives – maybe yours.
Itching’ to get this done from scratch.
Get your SWAT ready. They’re serious. Buzzed and back.
CDC issued an emergency warning that Zika carrying mosquitoes are in 129 California cities/10 California counties.
Time to needle them: a Zika vaccine is in stage two testing in human volunteers in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and five at-risk countries: Brazil, Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica and Peru. Baylor College of Medicine in Houston was first on point.
With pandemic this summer quite possible, get screens on the windows, and stay up with information by NIH here
Everything old is new again? CDC suggestion during 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic. They were so on it during the Ebola crisis. Will netted veils be this summer’s hottest trend?(USPD/Commons.wikimedia.org)
Football. Run the ball or run the mouth?
Tony Romo. Wise choice. Look, the Texans option? You know the teams Offense’s history. Kindly spared us from suffering another season of crushed hopes by expensive quarterback damage.
Speaking of running of the mouth, from the “Do as I say, not as I do” department
Galloping with the bull, Senator Elizabeth Warren declared “Equal Pay Day is a National Day of Embarrassment.” (Huffington Post) It was a quite a speech that needed to be said and heard. Wild applause.
Except.
Ironically. Her own female staffers made 71% less than male staffers in 2016. And there are others who do the same.
Way to go, Warren. Destroying credibility for yourself and the movement. Thanks.
Seems to me that elected official whose actions turn out to be exactly the opposite of their Speeches of Outrage and Condemnation of others should be immediately handed a large “H“ to be worn around their necks – for at least a week. (That’s about how long people’s memories seem to be.)
And any Dunderhead still not paying staff or employees equal wages for equal work, gets to wear a huge red “D-” until the situation is corrected.
Bound to be resistance to those suggestions, but “Pretty is a pretty does”….and all those old idioms (which amazingly offer a good dose of truth and commonsense).
Looking for a pattern that works. (1936 NARA/PD/Commons.wikimedia.org)
From the land of Gandhi and nonviolent resistance: not so passive vegetarians.
They had a cow.
“They were carrying eight bovines in the mini truck without permission” (Hardly know where to start. Great story. Although, eerie similarities to treatment of women by some men….Bundled together in a group without a choice. Can’t travel without permission and papers, much less drive themselves….Oh, ok moooving on.)
“Man dies after attack by cow vigilantes in India”
Strength of conviction, acting on their beliefs, and not concerned with respecting diversity.
Although I give them points for “Live and let live.” Sort of.
Speaking of living the life,
While Chico and his St Louis buddies who took the risky jump and lived to tell about it, have been assured that kinder pastures wait them, one might be considering steering the others towards a Go Fund Meat page to raise travel money to India.
There they seem to really know how to treat a cow with respect.
Don’t let anyone fence you in.
Phil, the Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge.
Now that all that’s ironed out, Staff has duties to attend. There are mousies to fluff and dogs to walk. (USPD/Commons.wikimedia.org)
The short kindergarten grouped in front. The fidgety first graders waving their yellow hands on the sides. Dignified middle graders dressed in showy red. Smug older students mounded in back pretending not to be there. And placed awkwardly center front, a couple of taller than the average girls sporting purple bouffant hair styles on their embarrassingly long giraffe-like necks. Adults stoic across the back. ©
Remember lining up for those group school pictures?
There was always some poor kid who stuck out like a towering pine tree among clover.
That awkward day captured forever.
For good or bad, nothing stays the same.
Outfits look different, but the faces are so similar to those in your class: a perky happy child, the sullen, the one clown who has dares to turn profile. Think he got in trouble for that? (USPD/Commons.wikimedia.org)
Ever been around a housewife in the frenzy of spring cleaning?
Choking on dust and cleaner fumes, you run a real risk of crashing over stuff pulled out from the depths of closets, piled, and marked for rehoming.
Like any establishment owner, Mother Nature gets antsy to freshen up the premises. Some changes done seasonally like most homeowners do, but once she gets started, watch out.
Her tools a bit on the larger scale: floods, earthquakes, rock slides, sink holes, volcanoes, river washouts.
She can also be bit forgetful about turning off the oven on time or leaving the freezer door open too long. (And who hasn’t done that?)
Naturally so clever and skilled.
Funnel clouds must be easiest way to rearrange large objects.
Hail for that distressed surface look.
Dust mite relocation program.(USPD/Commons.wikimedia.org)
And who doesn’t wish to improve a living space by encouraging problematic neighbors to relocate?
Mother Nature seems really good at that. Sometimes, gets them clean outta here permanently.
Like earthworms in a spring garden, humans better take care to avoid that sharp shovel as the earth turns.
Now the ants? Such disagreeable neighbors. Hopefully Mother Nature can relocate those pests.
Careful if you cry “uncle”
Phil, the Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge.
An interesting tidbit. On Monday, President Trump handed the National Parks Service a check for his entire first quarter salary: $78,333.32.
How classy it would be for all those wealthy individuals who claim to want to pay more taxes to follow his lead. Nothing stopping those 40 millionaires from writing a check to anyone they think needs help rather than just talking about it….. Money where mouth is…Actions speak louder than words…
Beware of the primrose path Ophelia warns.. ©
Ah, the Spring Break challenge. You take out the one in the red suit and I’ll take care of the yeller in the yellow? (USPD/Commons.wikimedia.org)
Annoying kids screaming in the pool next door? There’s drone for that.
But before you put down that glass of wine and pick up the controller, practice first.
Oh, stop acting like the “P” word is the ultimate punishment.
It’s not your mother’s mandated practice with piano scales, it’s a drone!
Besides, you might gain a few party tricks to earn you envy and adoration.
- Want a bit of sugar in your coffee? Sweets, drone, sweets!
- Want to make sure your favorite wins the sport stacking cup championships? Incoming!
But you might want to send a pool attack drone in from a direction other than your yard.
You know. Drone retaliation.
Clear to play over D-fence, sport.
- “Anti-drone gun looks beastly but is actually quite gentle.” (Digital Trends. )
- Beware if your neighbor finds out your drone has a camera: “Drones armed with lethal weapons – only in hands of police” (Yeah, that’s worked so well with guns, right? Bad guys just steal them out of the police cars…)
- Get drone war ready with Droneshield’s detection and countermeasure products.(I feel a reality show being scripted as we speak…)
- Or just tell the authorities who are trying to sort out the scorched earth response “Stop bothering a civil servant. Just a bit of practice for the daytime job with DataWing: drones that go anywhere it’s dangerous to send a human…” (No question that anywhere near a bunch of bored teenagers fits that.)
Although risking a drone war with kids could be foolish.
They’ve got the big advantage – of being new minds and fearless.
And with the holidays over, they’re ready to move past a Santa-driven drone flying around dropping tiny wrapped gifts down miniature chimneys. And they’re ready to drone on with new lessons.
Like maybe a neighbor-hunting Easter bunny drone? (Hmmm, might be a tool worth considering for those other hunts? Eggsactly.)
Might be less problematic to simply turn up your own sound system.
Battle of the bands. Has a vintage feel.
Phil, the Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge.
Learn to roll with it.(USPD/Commons.wikimedia.org)
Just when you thought it was safe to laugh, IT arrives.
Truth or Dare? You Pick it.
Oddly unsettling.(USPD/Commons.wikimedia.org)
Steady yourself for new reports of terrifying clowns.
Stephen King’s chiller and killer film It once again takes the center ring to dance across your fears on Sept. 8.
Featuring an updated era from the original script’s 50’s, the new IT movie spooks during the 80’s with a third movie planned with the survivors becoming adults and being determined to make that clown stop joking and stalking for good.
Until that final movie, get ready to deal with the nightmares created by this one.
(If you have company stock in red balloons, you might want to consider…)
And drum roll for the trailer:
Clowns a horror? Truthfully, these should give some additional chills:
Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University and Yale University were the focus of a recent study. (PDF report here)
Although these prestigious not-for-profit Ivy League Schools have wealthy donors, large endowment funds, and many financial resources including student tuition and fees, these schools grabbed tens of billions of tax dollars over six years. Received more federal money than 16 state governments. Less money from undergraduate student tuition than from taxpayers. Billions.
Not to mention the endowment tax breaks these schools get.
So, seem like you’re paying to provide a great university experience for someone else’s kid?
Gravy train reality check, please.
Get ready for some get down clown time.
(Have a wild weekend. Outta here early)
Phil, the Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge
“OK. Is everyone ready to review those college admission applications now?”(USPD/Commons.wikimedia.org)
It doesn’t look good. Can’t manage the words.
WordPress is cranky. Spellcheck’s sullenly correcting inappropriately. Google is all snippy.
Is The Final Word approaching?
After the Writer’s Strike and the witty ones walked off the job, cheap reality shows dominated the screens.
Now traditionally trained journalist and investigative reporters are being replaced by the citizen-on-the-scene’s amateur video efforts, snarky Twitter feeds, and news desk anchors reading comments and posts from social media.
“We don’t know what this is yet, but it may be something – and you saw it here first,” says the breathless anchor with over the top tone and expression.
Simply staring at nothing is a real option. Wordless entry enticing
What? Silence is golden? King’s ex. (USPD/Commons.wikimedia.org)
Is the wordless wasteland is causing a pox of social acting out?
Don’t be like Chuck. Words failed him.
Seeming overwrought and unhinged, does he believes he’s in some sort of reality show full of odd characters that he has to equal, no, top?
Understandably delusional after being deprived of intelligent, well written entertainment on TV or dignified, neutral, facts-only-so-you-make-up-your-own-mind-becasuse-we-won’t-lead-you-to-any-conclusions-here news.
All work and no say makes anyone a total wreck.
Including legislators. They hardly work work so hard. Words just get the best of them so often.
Even at the city level where words got away from this guy.
What’s left? Yet another new tv series of Law and Order: Major Crimes Against Words Unit?
Maybe a civil word can get in there edgewise.
Not brain-dead yet, but they keep trying.(USPD./Commons.wikimedia.org)
Well, (a deep subject) Silence, my old friend,
Are you at a loss for words with this: “Congress just killed your internet privacy protections”?
So you won’t feel this has been a total waste of words, now a ploy used by major networks national news: an ultra cute, warm and fuzzy ending.
People just want to feel good! No worries!
Hope words don’t fail me. (I hate wordy remedials.)
Phil, the Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge
Who let the vowels out? Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof.
(Molly loves posting pictures of her family. Pretty miffed she doesn’t have a FB page. Enduring wordless glares.)
- “Sled dogs have “status as the world’s premier ultra-endurance animal athletes.
How do they do it? New research suggests the canines are superior to most other mammals, including humans, in at least three key areas… ” Read more “Why sled dogs are super dogs” here. - Challengers running: 6 huskies vs 300 horses. “Mamba and Mustys are the two lead dogs that guide the dog sled team. They have to be mentally strong and brave… Just like race drivers”. Read, trait by trait, how dogs and a racy car are alike.
It’s Monday. Time to get a wake.
On the big scale of things, there’s a new Super Hero in town. No worming out of it, he’s a common man who recognized a challenge requiring effort against a boat load of odds.
A new Bass Master has been crowned. (Or should that be wildly acclaimed at the dock?)
Asking any big mouth for a bit of truth is asking for a fairy tale. (USPD/Commons.wikimedia.org)
Hey, there’s a Beastmaster, who made somebody a boat load of money with movies, TV, so is Bass Master the next big thing?
Jordan Lee should set the hook on all those deals now.
Sunday, the 25-year-old won the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods (you have to include all the words – big sponsors paid for that honor)
He’s a pro. (Who knew fishing was an actual career? One that pays better than e-book writer. They have big money sponsors just like race car drivers….which is good as they need dependable boats and lots of equipment. I don’t think the Blue Angels flew overhead a t the opening, though.)
Who knew colleges have competitive teams fishing with tournaments?
Lee was on the Auburn University fishing team. (Well, they have horseback riding teams, so not too far a leap for watering.)
“Here’s the deal: I play along chilling out in your ice chest and after getting measured, you put me immediately back in the water. Hook use is nonnegotiable.” (USPD/Commons.wikimedia.org)
Anyway, he was a serious underdog with all his bad luck during the tournament.
Maybe that’s why this fish tale is causing some smiles.
Between not pulling in impressive fish on Friday, the rough windy weather Saturday, and his boat engine giving up on Sunday to the point he had to hitch a ride with a spectator back to the final weigh-in, Lee somehow managed to float from the back leaderboard to win.
More on the contest/photos here.
Didn’t give up and did his scouting during practice and was rewarded with the $300,000 cash prize and the most coveted trophy in the sport.
And an impressive new boat.
(Certainly not given a golden rod, though. A concession for the horrendous allergy season.)
It’s all in the fishing books, now, so all you alligator gar, turtles and recreational boat runners and sunners can go back to your regular scheduled spring break noise and lake frolicking.
Please be careful to all the little bass who were spectators this year and those bass contestants with sore and tender mouths in the lake after the contest.
No, the little bass fingerlings aren’t critter snacks or for scaring the bathing suit pants off girls.
“74 things to do at the 47th Geico Bassmaster Classic” (And you thought it was as dull as watching sailboat races from the shore…)
Splash down and done.
Phil, the Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge.
Three’s a school. (USPD:pub.date,Commons,wikimedia.org)
The wings of inspiration elusive to some, but not to all.
Possibilities swoop right into their arms.
Can you hear me now? (USPD/Commons.wikimedia.org)
Anxious her non-verbal son was adrift after high school graduation, Sharon Meaden looked for something to anchor him. A thoughtful muse placed a jumbled box of old trophies in her path.
And what house doesn’t have piles of those sitting around these days with “Everyone is a winner”?
The hint was all it took.
Recycle, reuse, and never toss any person away.
Carrying that idea, she met with another mom, Foster Thompson, whose son has Cerebral Palsy. They had met previously through Special Olympics.
The idea quickly turned into a company, Revived Glory Awards, which for the past 4 years has provided a market-competitive product assembled by a team of ambitious, productive young people with who aren’t your average employees.
A delightful story. And if you want to rid yourself of those old trophies, they will be glad to help with that.
Watch the video. It’ll make you smile. “Trophy revival company provides a place for work for disabled adults.”
“Seriously, wardrobe? Belted bed sheets? Not an amused Muse here. Get my agent on the line.” (USPD/Commons.wikimedia.org)
Girls may just wanna have fun, but none want skinned up knees. Or have their mother yelling “Get outta the street.”
Tired of the terrible sidewalk she had to take to school, the second grader sat down a wrote a letter to Houston’s mayor.
Worried, he’d not pay attention, she offered some refreshments that they could ride their bike to while examining the sidewalks. And if he didn’t have a bike (which he does), her mom could drive them.
“8-year-old girl asks Mayor Turner for help”
Smiles for her mom who gushes that they gave her a civics lesson. “I knew that it was so cute and funny that the mayor would have to respond…” (A little fretting that “so cute” is praised more than her initiative, problem solving, and determination. Really hope the kid doesn’t think “cute” is all a female needs to get noticed, be effective, and to accomplish something.)
Cheers for the mayor for a quick, polite reply.
And for immediately forwarding the request to Public Works who promptly told the kid it’ll be 3-9 months before the repair is made.
Welcome to the real Dunderworld.
What? If they can’t stand the sweets, get out of the bar.” (USPD/Commons.wikimedia.org)
Social Media can be as brutal as a cock fight.
But the whimsical owner of Fluff Bake Bar used posted rude and weird comments as inspiration for a weekly Saturday bake sale.
Cooks know if you’re handed lemons, make lemonade.
“Made with hate”. Local bakery makes light of odd Yelp reviews
Treats and t-shirts. That’s pretty sweet.
Wait! Rebecca Masson, is also known locally as “The Sugar Fairy” or “The Sugar Hooker”, is a bit famous – been on the Bravo Network…
Not taking things too seriously is a winning recipe for life.
More smiles, less dundering.
Amusing possibilities
Phil, the Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge
Oh, OK. If feeling ugly and just have to snarl at something, some real Dunderheads:
- The chicks ironically not so happy at what went on by the Happy Bar.
- And this poor little chick. Understatement. Grim. Wolves let into the hen house.
Easy to lose your head with an overly dramatic woman tired of the dundermess. (USPD/Commons.wikimedia.org)
Thoughts silhouetted against lake and blue sky. (All rights reserved, no permissions granted©)
Swings let you ride the waves.
Open invitation to fly free from ground crumbling.
Into the wind. Towards, well, nothingness.
Restraints left behind – if only in the mind.
If only temporary.
Disengagement.
Have you noticed time disappears when you swing?
Sometimes, like today, you just want to leave it all – gravity, sensibility, reality.
Clean clear break – if only for that split second at the very top of that sweeping arc – free.
Before that backwards pull down.
Those chains restraining.
But that brief instant. That other worldly elation. That fling into the bright blue sky.
Enough to make you kick harder to get back there.
Story of humanity.
Phil, the Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge.
Our thoughts are with those in London and the families of the injured.
.
(Also wishing to be safe and sound: Capone the dognapped German Shepherd in Aurora, CO is cleared to return to his family – with manageable restrictions. Story here. Only a dog, but important to his family. Thanks to all who helped.)
Sometimes good happens.
Find a swing.
A dock or pier will do if a swing can’t be found. A small finger into depths of water. An eyelash into the sky. Cloak yourself in their companion, the wind. And breathe. (All rights reserved. No permissions granted.©)
Now THIS is scary. Should DNA be requested? (USPD/Commons.wikimedia.org)
The truth is out there.
Will it make a difference.
DNA results show he’s a real dog. Not a bad thing in this instance.
Capone, the profiled black shepherd in Aurora, Co., isn’t a wolf according to the DNA results.
Case closed? Not yet.
While Capone is still being held against his will, his owners, the Abbatos, will be back in court Wed morning to face several charges including: having an aggressive animal, having a dog run at large, and keeping an exotic, wild, or dangerous animal.
The Judge will determine whether Capone will be returned to his loving family, stay in custody, or even be put down by Animal Control.
At least there’s no possibility of the 10-year-old dog who sleeps with kids being shuttled off to a wolf sanctuary to face a wild he’s never known. They are 100% not his people.
How long will the city of Aurora drag this out.
RV pups and local hikers with pack are waiting to see if they need to make a wide circle of avoidance around the dognapping city this summer.
Story was even in the UK Daily Mail.
Over 23,061 signatures on the Change.org petition “Please Bring Capone Home”
- KDVR Denver News article: “DNA proves suspected wolf hybrid is just a dog”
- Denver Post video ” DNA shows Aurora dog not a wolf, despite animal control belief.
- Related previous blog post here.
Example of barking up the wrong tree.
Phil, the Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge
Just about everyone has memories of a pet dog – even if it’s just Lassie.
“Everybody needs his memories. They keep the wolf of insignificance from the door.” (Saul Bellow)
So here’s something to put in memory: Nothing is more loyal or more grateful than a rescue dog. It says, “This beer belongs to my master.” There. Dog on duty. (USPD/Commons.wikimedia.oerg)
“I know you are no Spring chick, but is there any hop to getting outta here?”©
Ever thought how similar blogs and garage sales are?
An assortment of goods piled topsy-turvy – with the not so goods wedging hopping to escape notice (or just hoping for an escape to elsewhere)
You know the nagging clutter or diamond in the rough all now tagged, priced and spaced out on the table
- Thought it might be something, but turned out to be nothing.
- Brought to the table as it was such a deal or oddity. It screamed, “Take me home!” (Now you just scream…)
- Handed off by a relative or good friend. “You’ll find a use for this.” (Awkward. How many months do you have to wait before they forget?)
- The “Hot Potato” and you’re end of the line in the game. (A family treasure now the curse of being the designated keeper.How did it survive all those years?)
- Or it’s just trend over. Item out of season. (Everyone knows if you put out seasonal stuff when people are thinking of that holiday, you’ll get a better number for it.)
All of it sits sullenly. In sight. Like underwear on a clothesline.
Silently grumbling about neglect and being let down. Stuffed in boxes or forgotten in files.
- Smudged and crumpled. (Post-it notes were never meant to be archival materials)
- Cryptic symbols, abbreviations, and jumbles of words clinging in drafts. (What exactly was that supposed to say)
- Mismatched tidbits of in “Bookmarks”, ripped news clippings tucked under the keyboard, an odd picture or two saved in photos. (What will archeologists, or more likely relatives, make of all of this someday?)
Fleeting – or freeing – thoughts grasp with tendrils just like all those objects in a garage sale.
You know how it goes. At first you’re tough, hard-hearted, and cold. Culling.
But then, as you meander through them, you know you can’t help it.
Quietly snatching back this and that.
Not quite ready to let go yet. There’s something – something- still there. (Certainly the value not recognized by others. Just look how they carelessly toss them aside and go on!)
Like a mother dog gathering up her pups at the end of the day and returning them to snuggle and warm against her at night, writers and bloggers wrap up the small misshapen sentences, the half-baked ideas, and the words that are still bouncing that won’t calm down and get in line – all the vague and imprecise ones curl tightly against the wordsmith exhausted, but happily waiting for their world to be spun.
Priceless is in the rummaging eye,
Phil, the Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge.
“I can’t help but think you’re getting all wound up over nothing.”©
“Quiet. Keep your head down and try to look skinny to fit in,” a mother dollar weed cautions her twins about life in the lawn. “Danger lurks at every spin of the blade or crush of the paw.”©
St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated as much as Cinco de Mayo in Texas
For good reason.
Oh, it is not all about the consumption of beer although…
Both are on the table of our mutt heritage.
Remember the Alamo?
Among those who died defending the Alamo in March 1836 were 12 who were Irish-born, while an additional 14 bore Irish surnames. There may have been others.
From The Texas State Historical Association and the Handbook of Texas Online:
“Natives of Ireland were among the first settlers in Spanish-ruled Texas, and the story of the Irish in Texas is in many ways coincident with the founding of the republic and the development of the state. The heritage of the Irish seems in retrospect to have peculiarly suited their migration to a new land, for the English dominance of Ireland must have been to the new colonists in Texas a close parallel to the oppression they eventually found in the new country. It is not surprising that as many as twenty-five Irishmen probably signed the Goliad Declaration of Independence, that four signed the actual Texas Declaration of Independence, and that 100 were listed in the rolls of San Jacinto, comprising one-seventh of the total Texan force in that battle. Probably the first Irishman in Texas was Hugo Oconór, who became governor ad interim of Texas in 1767.”
“The descendants of generations who had long fought and died for their civic and religious liberties, the Irish were quicker than most to recognize incursions upon their rights and to defend against them.”
“The 1850 census listed 1,403 Irish in Texas; ten years later the number was 3,480.”
“The Irish were third among those claiming European ancestry, following English and German.”
Read the rest here.
Another tale of an Irish man who came seeking some green can be found in “The Irish Colonies of Texas“:
“John (Juan) McMullen Irish Empresario & Co-founder of the McMullen & McGloin Colony, was born in Ireland in 1785 most probably in east Donegal County or in a county of North-East Ulster…” After landing in Baltimore, he became a merchant and migrated to Matamoros, Mexico sometime in the early 1820’s.
Seeing land available, he encouraged Irish families to come and settle here, and, and eventually became a judge only to be assassinated in his sleep.
In Mexico and the Southwest, many also wear the green on St. Patrick’s Day to honor Mexico’s Fighting Irish.
St. Patrick’s Battalion (also called the San Patricios and Los Colorados) was created by soldiers who deserted the US army for Mexico during the unpopular Mexican American War(1840’s) when the US invaded Mexico.
“The Green Command” were fierce fighters joined Mexico as they had not been allowed citizenship, they opposed fighting other Catholics, Mexico had already outlawed slavery, and the Irish faced tremendous and cruel prejudice in the US at the time.
After the war, only the Irish were hung (Not shot by firing squads as military law required) while all other deserters received pardons and allowed to fight in the Civil War.
The grass definitely looked greener on the other side of the conflict to them.
So here’s to all who were equal to the land: their freewheeling style, music, food and, of course, drink.
Cerveza para todos. Sláinte
Phil, the Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge
Under cover of darkness or light. In rain or drought, Dollar Weed armies march across the landscape each spring. ©
Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge 