Behold! The World's Sweetest Kitty!

Yes, it's a cat blog post. Get over it. She's our little old scraggly-voiced sweet loving Bennie cat and I'll post about her if I want to!

I was messing around with my camera the other day and took these shots of her on the couch. She looked so cute, I just had to use them. She looks pretty good for an old woman of 18, huh?



She's at that age where she pretty much sleeps most of the time, but she has her active moments. Her lap detector goes off frequently, compelling her to the nearest sitting down person for a visit. she still good for a love nibble or two and an affectionate head butt. Jumping from my chair to the couch is not a problem for her, neither is getting in my chair. She started having problems getting in the bed a few years ago, so we got some steps for her, which she loves. She's not the little kitty who could jump up on top of doors (really!) any more, but she's not ready for a wheel chair yet either.



There she is, folks! You can see the marks of age on her, but she's as much a cutie pie now as she was the day we brought her and her sister into the house as babies. They were all ears and tail then. out of all the cats we've had, I can honestly say that she's the only one who has never had a single habit or behavorial issue that we had to deal with. She's just always been the best.



She's always been the low kitty on the totem pole in our house. Basil was the leader and she was always the follower. Then, when the boys came along, they both pushed her aside for higher positions. But she doesn't mind. She knows two things:

1. She's a better hunter than any of them. She's caught more mice than the much bigger, faster, younger boys.

2. She's more clever than they are. She knows all she has to do is hiss at one of the boys and they'll get in trouble for bothering her.

She was supposed to have been a boy, but turned out to be a girl. We thought Bennie was a good name for a girl too, so we kept it. It was to be short for Benedict (as in Saint Benedict), but now it's short for Benedicta.

Her full name is Gratia-Plena Benedicta Scholastica Maria-Theresa Guadalupe Evans-Mitchell. Quite a mouthful for such a little lady, huh? You can just call here "Bennie." She'll probably strike up a conversation with you if you do, she's always liked to talk.



World's Sweetest Kitty. Can there be any doubt who it is?

All Apologies!

Terribly sorry about the unplanned service interruption over the weekend. I was doing another cat-sitting gig, this time at a house with no internet access, so I was off the grid.

I had planned to drop in somewhere with wifi and update from there, but I ended up hanging around the house watching cartoons.

Oh well.

Regular blogging resumes tomorrow.

Quite Possibly The Greatest Cross-Cultural Mash-Up Ever!

Old-time all-female string band in a traditional clogging match with cheesy Kung Fu movie fighters? I'm so there!



Uncle Earl: "Streak o'Lean, Streak o'Fat"

The banjo player is shouting Mandarin phrases throughout the song, which is what I think inspired the video. I remember an interview on NPR a couple of years ago where she talked about her music studies in China and her work with a traditional Chinese instrument similar to a banjo. She eventually recorded a few songs in Mandarin on her solo album.

Here's some more Uncle Earl, this time from the River of Music Festival in Owensboro, Kentucky. I've not been to this festival, but very much hope to at some point.



Uncle Earl: "One True"

I love the line about candy bars!

Stuck in my head

So, ever since I got that Easy Bake Oven at the flea market, this song has been stuck in my head. I was humming it this morning and realized that I've never posted anything by Girlyman to the blog before.

This is a situation that simply has to be rectified immediately. So here they are singing the song that's currently stuck in my head:



Apologies that the vid is so crappy. It was honestly the best of the choices that YouTube had to offer. To make up for that, here's a better video of another of their best songs:



Funny where going to the flea market can lead, huh?

Just a thought for a Tuesday that's really a Monday

Short weeks end up seeming to be worse than the full work weeks, so here's a little humor to get you through the day.

Flea Market Follow Up

Well, it was an interesting day yesterday. Too many people there for me to take many pictures, but I did make a couple of my cart. I've always been a little shy when it comes to taking pics of things people have for sale, but there were some interesting items on display throughout.

Some thoughts:

As much as I love the flea market, I hate the crowds! I hate crowds in general, but here they make it so hard to take your time and browse. I passed some stands up just because I didn't want to fight to get over to them. That meant no food or coffee samples. Bummer!

The fairgrounds has raised parking to eight bucks, which is simply outrageous. While it didn't seem to hurt the crowds on this holiday weekend, I wonder how it will affect things during one of the non-holiday flea markets. That's an awful lot to pay for the privilege of parking your vehicle. Keith dropped me off at the front gate and picked me up there afterward, so we didn't have to pay.

Saw a lot more comic books than usual. In fact last time I was there, I only saw one or two dealers with them. This time they were everywhere! I even bought a few.

A lot of the same dealers are there from show to show, usually set up in the same spots. I like this, since it makes them easy to find. The people I get my bags and supplies from are one of the regulars. Just turn left when you go in and they're at the end of the first row. I can get that bit of business out of the way in the beginning.

There's another regular guy who usually has good stuff and his prices are pretty good, but he can be such an ass. A woman was asking about one of his items and he said to her: "You must be from Louisville. Only Louisville girls let their tits hang out like that." Sorry, dude. No money from me after that!

A whole lot of folks were going the "everything's a dollar" route in their booths, including the antique dealers. I got a lot of stuff that I never would have been able to in better economic times, including an old Easy Bake Oven, complete with pans and instructions.

Of course, there were still quite a few dealers with fancy things at fancy prices. I heard a couple of them talking at one point. Apparently, it was a good show for them too.

There seemed to be fewer of the people selling overstock groceries, cleaning supplies, and HBA stuff out of banana boxes. That's actually a good thing. A couple of years ago, they were about to overrun the place.

A couple of my favorite book dealers seem to have disappeared. I hope they just dropped Louisville from their circuit and didn't go out of business altogether.

Every time I go to a flea market and listen to the traveling dealers talk, it strikes me just how hard it must be to make a living that way

It's always a good place to do a little research about stuff. Six or eight months ago, I bought a small green glass cradle at a thrift and sold it in the booth. Never could figure out what it was for. Found out yesterday that it's a planter.

Also checked out a Holly Hobby toy oven like one I'm watching in a thrift right now. It's priced about half of the one I saw yesterday. So, now I just gotta wait a few days until the new half price tags go out and I can pick it up at a real bargain price!

And, finally, here's a couple of shots of my cart at the end of the day:



The yellow thing is the Easy Bake Oven. And, now, a side view:



The popcorn provided needed sustenance for the journey. I just love my little granny cart! It makes doing the big flea market so much easier.

All in all, very good day. Got a couple of things for me and a lot of things for the booth. I'll get some pics of the haul once I get it unloaded.

These fleas don't bite!

Heading out to the flea market today at the Kentucky Fairgrounds. I totally love the Stewart Promotions shows. I've been going since I was a kid. I remember going one time with my dad and being too sick to handle more than a couple rows of vendors. After that, I threw in the towel and went home to bed. The joke in the family was that I must have been really sick to have left the flea market before seeing the whole thing!

My flea marketing started early. In my hometown, there was a weekly flea market on Wednesdays at the stockyards. It grew out of the days when Wednesday was the day farmers took their livestock into sell. The flea market evolved as a way for them to buy tools and such on the spot. By the time I came along, you could find anything there. In the summer, my best friend Thomas and I used to head there and look for old comics. Once there was an article in a local paper about the flea market and it mentioned a boy searching through a pile of comics. I've always been convinced it was referring to one of us.

A lot of the small town roadside flea markets have gone away, but the one I went to as a kid is still there and still going. I think that's pretty cool.

Before she got sick, my mom and I would get together once or twice a year to go to this flea market. I went to the one on July 4 weekend, which was one of the ones we would go to. It was part of our celebration for her birthday, which was July 6. I really felt like I needed to go as a way to remember her. It felt strange being without her, but it also made me remember some of the fun we had going together.

My targets have gotten broader than comics these days, although I'll still look for those as well. I'll also be searching for merch, of course. The flea market has become the place where I pick up bags, stands and other supplies I need for the booth. I can find them there at a reasonable price.

There's also a special antique section this weekend. I always love to spend time in those. I usually can't afford anything (and there's definitely not much for resale), but the stuff is cool to look at. It's also a good place to learn about things I might want to know for my own reselling ventures.

I'm supposedly all grown up now, but I still love the flea market as much as I did when I was younger. Above all else, it's a fun way to spend the day. If I find anything cool or fun, I'll post about it later.

Yard Sale Round Up

Saling ended up on the light side today, for several reasons.

First, sales in general have been of a lesser quality this year. There is speculation on a forum I belong to that due to the economy people are either hanging on to their stuff longer or trying to sell it for higher prices than most of us are willing to pay. I know that I have seen even at huge annual sales less participation than in the past. The listings just weren't there for this weekend.

Second, I'm pretty well-stocked right now. I could not acquire anything for the next two months and still be able to adequately restock the booth, without even touching the backstock I have set aside for the winter months. I'm not sure how much more ahead of the curve I need to get, due to limited storage space. I do intend to keep picking stuff up, but now I can afford to be a little more selective.

Third, interestingly enough, I'm finding that I'm actually saling less now that I'm out looking for merch than I did when I was out just going for the heck of it. I tend to be a little less adventurous in my explorations now. Before, if I came up empty, it was no big deal. Now it can effect what the booth takes in. I tend to concentrate on certain neighborhoods, which are proven sources of the stuff I'm looking for and on places where I can get a lot of stuff at once: church sales, benefit sales, neighborhood sales. Not much of that action this weekend.

And, finally, the spirit was willing but the flesh was weak. I overslept considerably this morning. Consequence of being in an unfamiliar bed, I guess. I slept lousy last night, but got up early enough, then decided to lay back down for 30 minutes and ended up sleeping another couple of hours. So many folks end their sales between 11 and 12, that a late start can screw up your day.

However, there were some finds. I hit one of my favorite church sales, which thankfully was as good as past years. I got some nice vintage items, including a complete bridal shower bingo game and a stationery set.

Finds from the church sale

I also found a cool little stash of old religious items.

Religious items from sale. Item in center is small ashtray.

Everything else was kind of blah, until later in the evening, when I stumbled on someone's leftover freebie pile. Ended up pulling out a vintage wading pool, still in box, never used, plus a couple of other things. Most of it is "filler" stuff that I will use to fill out the spaces in the booth, but nothing. I would not have paid for it, but free is another matter.

Stuff from freebie pile.

Vintage pool n box. Never used!

Close up of cool pattern on pool.

So, in quantity, it ,ay all be down a little, but the quality was definitely there.

Holiday Weekend Eve

Well, I made it through the first week of the new part-time gig (henceforth NPTG) oay. It's pretty much right up my alley and I enjoy it tremendously. I only wish it was a few more hours a week, but it will work temporarily.

So I'm sitting for the weekend. Pet-sitting, that is. I'm staying in a top floor loft and keeping a 20 year old kitty (really!) company while her Daddies are away on a trip. I've been staying with her from time to time for a few years now. There are a couple of folks that I house/pet sit fir. It's a nice gig to have from time to time. It's like getting away without leaving town, so I try to treat it like a mini-vacation, with the added bonus of a little cash for doing it. It's also I good chance to veg out with some DVD's and a good book or two.

But not this weekend. It's Labor Day weekend which is a good time for yard sales in town, so I'll be out on the junk hunt. I did break 500 last month with the booth, so this time around, I'm looking too see if I can try it again. That means I got to keep the merch coming in. Luckily, there's severa; chances to do that this weekend.

Today, of course, is the above-mentioned yard saling. I've still gotta work out my route and such, but I know I'll be out there. Tomorrow, I'll be at the big flea market at the Fairgrounds. And, on Monday, I'll be hitting the half-price sale at one of the biggest thrifts in town.

All in all, a pretty full weekend for the hunt. I'll post more about my adventures as they happen. Have a good weekendl

Fair Use

Found this while cleaning out my stash of started but never finished posts. Whenever it was that I first found it, I thought that it was both clever and informative enough to want to share, so here it is.



Really well done.

Rebel Rock Armegeddon

Don't know about you all, but sometimes I feel like this for sure:



I got Rockabilly in my blood and radiation, too!

The Real Reason the Ice Caps Are Melting

It's the penguins and their damn cigarette factories!



Not to mention the smoking they do themselves!

Say it ain't so, fellas! Say it ain't so!

By the way....

I MADE IT!!!!!!!

Got there with a day to spare even!

This showed up in my YouTube recommendations this week

Got no idea why, but it's a cute song that kind of grows on you. Thought I'd share it here.



What are you waiting for? Go put your jeans on!

Ended up with a little time to post after all

Well, waddayaknow? I did get a chance to finish something up and post it. That's good. I feel a little better about being low content for the rest of the week, since I got something real out today.

Enjoy!

I'll be housesitting over the bulk of the holiday weekend, so I should have a chance to crank out a real post or two. I've pretty much got the backlog of drafts cleared out for now.

Coasting by this week...

It's probably bad form to re-start your blog and then immediately go into a few days of low-content, lazy-ass posts, but I figure my blogging standards can't get any lower than they already are.

I'm starting my part-time gig today and my schedule is going to be pretty erratic for the next six weeks. I'm going to pre-set some simple posts for this week to give me a chance to get used to things and hopefully stockpile some more content-rich posts. I don't quite have it together enough yet to frontload a bunch of real content, so you'll have to make due with this.

If I get a chance along the way, I'll drop in some other stuff, but I'm making no promises. Things are topsy-turvy enough that I've not yet worked out a day to go restock and clean the booth.

So, I do hope you'll drop back in this week, even at low content mode, it'll still be the first week I've posted every day since, well, I don't know when.

And in the meantime, enjoy Peter, Bjorn, and John:



Have a good week!

Countdown to 500!

The longest hour of the day for me is the one between 8:30 and 9:30 every evening. That's the point where whatever OCD I have kicks in, along with my huge primeval drive for instant gratification. That's the hour before the daily sales report comes in.

One of the things I really like about my booth arrangement with Peddler's Mall is the daily reports. I get an email every evening that recaps the day's sales for me, for every day that I have sales. It's kind of neat for me that, after a year of doing this, I've only had a handful of days with no sales at all. I could actually be doing something right here.

Anyway, the sales email usually comes between 9:15 and 9:30 each night, but I seem to be unable to stop myself from getting on the computer at 8:30 to wait for it. I typically end up mindlessly surfing until it comes. I'm thinking this may be a good time to set aside for blogging.

It's kind of fun to see what sells each day and exciting to see my monthly total increase. I get a real kick out of seeing something that I just put out sell right away. Then there's the sense of relief at seeing something that's been sitting there for ages finally move. I've learned to never say that something will sell right away and to never say that something won't sell. It seems, based on my sell-through rate, that I've got halfway decent instincts about what to put in the booth.

My goal right now is to have a month with $500 gross sales. I'm getting close. Last month was around $450 and right now I'm sitting at $487, with two days to go. I just wish the last days of the month weren't Monday and Tuesday, which are the worst two sales days of the week. I very well could get the thirteen bucks I need out of 'em, or I could have three dollars in sales each day. The unpredictability drives me nuts and excites me at the same time. It's like having Christmas every day at 9:30 p.m.

If I do hit the $500, about half of that will go to my space rent. (I've actually got three spaces now.) Two percent is commission, and the rest will be my money to put back into the booth as stock in September. It's kind of self-perpetuating and self-sustaining right now.

My other goal is to sustain the 400+ gross level through the winter. Last year, I had strong sales through July and August, then they slowly began to slide through the fall. Now that I know what the pattern is, I hope to plan to avoid it. I know one thing I pan to do is work more Christmassy stuff in earlier. Another will be to have more new items that will be suitable for gifts. I'm even toying with the idea of creating some "Give Secondhand" flyers for the holidays. I'm creating a small stockpile of vintage holiday items as well. The ones I had last year sold very well for me.

For right now, though,I'm still pulling for thirteen more bucks in the next two days.

Booth Doings

One of the best things that has happened to me in the past year has been my booth. Now, I'm not exactly setting the world on fire (or my bank account for that matter). But it has made enough every month to cover the rental fee and commission, with a little left over. I've not sat down and done any calculations with the costs of the items sold each month, but I suspect I'm usually pretty close to breaking even, as long as I don't try to calculate anything in for my time.

And it is a way lot more time-consuming than anyone not involved might think. I spend some time every day on it, which is a challenge for a lazy-ass like me. On the other hand, it does give me a somewhat credible excuse for not cleaning the bathroom (or blogging).

Here's kind of what the break down looks like:

2-3 times a week: Hit the local thrifts, hunting for stuff. There are four that I visit regularly, and several more that I get to when I happen to be in that part of town. This has gotten a little easier since I've not been working.

Saturday mornings for at least four or five hours (and sometimes more): Yard Sales! Saling is better than the thrifts, because the prices tend to be better. The best is to hit a good church rummage sale or fund-raising sale, because their goal is to get rid of everything by sale's end. This always makes for great prices.

Evenings after buying trips: Spend at least an hour sorting, logging, and wrapping purchases. I list each item in a notebook along with the receipt. Everything gets put into Rubbermaid tubs when done.

Monday and Tuesday evenings: Spend a couple of hours going through at least one tub, cleaning and pricing all the items. I do try to do this when I'm sorting everything after buying, but if it's been a big day, I can't get to everything, so I prioritize getting stuff logged while I can remember whet I paid for it.

Wednesday evening: Spend 3-4 hours at the booth cleaning it up and re-stocking. Even though the staff of the Peddler's Mall handle the money end of the transaction, it's up to me to keep the booth tidy and full of stuff people will want to buy. You'd be amazed at how a group of browsers can really jostle your space without buying anything!

In the in-between times: Spend a couple hours a week bagging up smaller items into sets and pricing them. I also like to buy large bagged sets of items, like fridge magnets, and break them down into smaller sets. I keep a box of stuff like this by my TV chair and do it when I watch my soaps.

Every six weeks or so: Spend a whole day (usually on a weekend) at the booth and give it a thorough cleaning and rearranging, to keep it fresh-looking.

And this doesn't count: Time spent on supply runs, any research time, time spent at clearance tables in whatever store I might be in (grocery, drug store, Target, Borders, etc) looking for markdowns I might be able to sell, attending the odd auction, and the occasional curb dive on junk set out days.

All that adds up to a big chunk of time! But it's fun. It takes my mind off things. Keith says it's been really good for me, and I would agree. During the time when I couldn't seem to do anything right at work (according to my superiors), I had the booth to remind me that I am indeed a pretty smart and competent guy. For me, that was a bigger payoff than any money that this endeavor might generate.

Well, what do you know? Blogger remembered me!

It seems like I spend my life intending to do so many things that never quite happen. I intend to be 20 pounds lighter. I intend to clean the bathroom. I intend to blog on a regular basis. And so on and so forth. We won't get into the weight and the bathroom here, but you can obviously see how well the blogging is going.

It's been a strange couple of years. I finally ended up in the absolute dream position last year, only to have it yanked away from me a few months later. Then I got shuffled into a less than ideal position, ended up doing a pretty good job at it, and got booted from it a month ago. Booted in the big way, that is. Been unemployed ever since.

Can't go into details right now. I need to leave it at this: none of it was right. I'm looking at my options as far as responses go. More than that I probably shouldn't say.

I've got some part time work coming up and my vacation pay combined with Mom's life insurance, plus a little monthly income from the booth, hopefully will carry me until I can get a regular gig again. That's the theory anyway.

Speaking of the insurance brings up the other shadow across my life, Mom's death. We went from cancer diagnosis last September to her death right before Memorial Day in what seems like no time at all. Still seems unreal. Ours wasn't the smoothest of mother-son relationships, but I miss her terribly. Interestingly, I'm finding myself remembering the positives of her life more than dwelling on the negatives. There's a lot more that I want to say about her passing, but not tonight.

So, anyway, I'm muddling through, just about like always. Trying to make the best of things and focus on the positives: I've got a wonderful man I love who loves me, three of the most adorable loving cats in the world, an awesome brother, the coolest niece and nephew in the world, and things really can't be that bad in the face of all that, can it?

It's a little tight right now, but I think we're going to make it. So, what's new with you?

And now I am an orphan

Carolyn Campbell Mitchell 1941-2010

You'll have to read the obituary at the link. I can't write anything else about it right now.

Eddie's Attic: The Early Days

Welcome to my new world!

I look at that pic now, and my first thought is "God, I'm fat!" But after that, I think of how much the booth has already changed. That photo was just a week ago, and since then, I've moved in a table and chair, a media rack and some more shelves, not too mention a lot more merchandise!

One of the things I've learned is that it takes a lot of stuff to keep the place running, especially at the pace things keep flying off the shelves. Not to brag or anything, but, in the week since I put stock out, I've already made most of the booth rent for next month. If things keep up at this pace, I will have the rent for next month by the end of the month.

Given that the thought in the beginning was that we wouldn't make the August rent in July because we didn't start until the middle of the month, that's pretty exciting. I had anticipated eventually being able to cover the rent with sales, but I thought it would take a couple of months.

Not to say, I'm turning a profit or on the verge of supporting myself, mind you. If you factored in my time, even at minimum wage, I'm bleeding money. But I didn't go into this to get rich, just as a hobby of sorts. If the booth can support itself by covering the rent, plus give me a little extra for new merch, then I'm happy.

Plus, it's kind of cool to see what sells, analyze sales, and plan based on that.

Anyway, here's a few pics of the early days for your viewing pleasure, if you like looking at fat guys stocking booths, that is.



It takes a lot of sorting to get it all just right.



Proper posture for applying price tags requires keeping both arms absolutely rigid!



I know it doesn't look like much here, but remember this was just the beginning. When I get the chance I'm going to do a video tour of the booth as it is now.



This guy sold right off the bat! Note to self: more Mickeys!



This was my favorite items from my first set of stock! I was actually working in the booth when the guy who bought it picked it up. He got the biggest kick out of it!

Some Emmylou...Just for you! (and me!)

Someone on the Emmylou mailing list shared this, and I simply can't resist sharing:



It's the poster from the Emmylou and the Nash Ramblers show at the Ryman, way back when. This is a legendary show and the live recording is one of my favorite Emmylou albums. Their version of "Get Up John" alone is more than worth the price of admission. Simply blows my mind every time.

Also, as is the case with shows at the Ryman, the print was done by the legendary Hatch Show Prints. We have two of their prints, from shows we got to see at the Ryman, hanging in our living room. Here's a gallery of their amazing work.

Stayed Up a Bit Too Late

Working on stuff for the booth and a few other projects and lost track of time. Got to get to bed like right now!

This should help:



Such an interesting group of performers there, but it's obvious who the star of the show is. :-)

See you tomorrow. Trying to post all week.

Let's just call it "Eddie's Folly"

In which your Eddie-tor decides to become a junk peddler.

It's no secret that I like to shop. You don't become a collector of anything without at least a tiny bit of longing for the thrill of the hunt. Of course, I've taken it several steps farther than that. Basically, as long as it's not groceries, I love a good shopping trip.

It's not that I'm necessarily super-materialistic, per se. I don't make a ton of money, and I'm not into having tons of stuff, or the latest and greatest of everything, but I've always liked to see what's out there. And if I find something cool that I can afford, so much the better.

Still, I do try not to be wasteful. I'll hang on to stuff until it literally falls apart. For that reason, I've always been big into second hand retail--thrifts, yard sales, etc. In fact, my birthday celebration each year is a mad orgy of thrifting, as we hit every store in town that sells second-hand.

A few years ago, a friend of ours expanded her eBay business into one of the local second-hand shops. She's been coasting through, making a pretty good go at it. She tried to talk me into taking the plunge a while back, noting that I'm running out of space in the house for stuff. We explored the idea, but let it fall by the wayside.

Until a couple of weeks ago, that is. One of the Peddler's Malls in Louisville moved to a new location this month. I went out there over the 4th of July weekend and saw that they had a ton of booth space available. After talking it over with Keith for a while, I took out a contract for a booth yesterday.

I know it's not going to be easy. Our friend works at hers every weekend and evening--going to auctions, attending yard sales, etc. I'm not looking to make a living at it, though. I'm just hoping for a past time that kind of pays for itself.
And, if I clear out some of my excess, so much the better. I'm hoping to bring the kind of focus to a couple of my collections that I brought to my comics when I sold off 3/4 of the lot a couple of years ago. (Best yard sale we ever had!)

Yesterday, we did the first round of yard sale hunting as junk dealers. It was kind of fun being able to buy interesting stuff I would have always thought was kind of cool, but nover bought because I didn't have a use or space for it.

My goal is to kind of deal in quantity. I want to keep the prices low as I can and sell a variety of interesting stuff. You can still find some great bargains at yard sales, and occasionally from other dealers as well. I'm hoping it's a pricing strategy that will work in a down economy for someone dealing in definite non-essentials.

I've been pulling my first batch of inventory together tonight. Tomorrow night, I'm going over to set up. It's going to be a lot of work, but I hope it will keep my mind off a lot of the unsavory things happening around me lately.

So, if you're in the area, drop by Eddie's Attic (Keith came up with the name): Booth 62 in the Shively Center Peddler's Mall on Dixie Highway.

Why I'll Never Drink Evian....

I'm sorry, but these hairless, toothless wheeled mutant beings creep me the hell out!



Gack!

Monday Morning Folk Music: One Woman with a Shovel!

I've written before about folk powerhouse Carrie Newcomer and the comfort I get from her music. This song is one that I find to be particularly empowering. It seems these days, I need reminders about the virtues of standing up for yourself and what's right, especially against impossible odds. I find myself playing this little clip a lot and humming the chorus to myself throughout the day. Sometimes it's the only way to cope in a place where the nationally recognized get fired, those with knowledge and experience get shafted, and the unqualified get repeatedly promoted.

Check out her guitar when you watch this. I don't think I've ever seen anyone use three capos before!



The video comes from the Wilderness Plots documentary about the album of the same name that Newcomer and a bunch of other Indiana folkies did, using stories from a book about the settlement of the midwest (with yet again the same titles) as their inspiration and starting point.

The documentary was airing on PBS through the spring. It's worth catching if it comes back around.

Thoughts on the new Days promo

I really love the new promo for Days of Our Lives, but it's also a little frustrating to watch. The things that make it a successful clip are the very things that the show could use a lot more of. If the marketing folks can get it, why can't the writing and production teams?

The show on display in this promo is one I would love to watch every day. The one I watch every day is nothing like it. If I were not watching Days, but decided to check it out based on this clip, I'd end up confused and a little disappointed.

First off, it's fun! The show has been so dark and dismal lately, what with babies dying and being stolen and people being kidnapped or poisoned and whatnot. It's just plain nice to see everyone smiling and laughing. It would be nice if that would actually happen on the show, just a little. After all, the clip does promise a "summer of fun!"

Next, the focus is on family and romance, the two key ingredients of any good soap, something Days has a hard time remembering at times. Not that the show is devoid of them, but we just don't get enough of the kind of light-hearted romantic sweetness that's on display here. People taking pleasure in simply being with each other comes from the characters themselves, not the plots. Too much on the actual show is plot-driven right now.

The clip is just full of all kinds of awesome little character bits that would enhance the show so much right now, simply by providing some counterweight to the plot-driven nature of the show. These little moments tell us so much about the characters and who they are that we don't get when we're watching them muddle through plot-decree number thirty-seven.

Simple stuff like this is what I'm talking about:

Maggie standing arm in arm with Nathan and Lucas
Brady stopping the swing by putting his arms around Arianna's waist
That little look between Nicole and Stefano at the end
Sami and Roman hugging at the table
Bo and Hope on the little bridge
Hell, even the little bit with Kate tossing the apple and catching it is a delightful summation of her character these days, and I loathe that whole story!

Instead, on the show, we get stuff like:

Maggie lying to Lucas about his accident
EJ the eternally angry emotionally abusing Nicole the eternally needy
Bo the psychic and his stupid visions
Kate trying to kill Chloe
Phillip making Stephanie lie about her kidnapping, a time when she was held captive in a drawer in a morgue, for god's sake!
Stephanie abusing pills to try and forget all of the above*
Rafe threatening to leave Sami three days after their baby dies because he's trying to keep some dumb secret about a dead woman we don't know or care about

My favorite thing about the whole clip is that every character is featured, except possibly for the babies (and Alice), which I totally love. Due to the economics of the business of daytime, the whole cast never appears in one episode any more. Of course, when you look at the whole group in one place, it's a little shocking how small the cast is these days. I mean, they're all gathered around two or three picnic tables! It's also a little troubling to be reminded how infrequently Roman and the Carvers appear these days.

Still, despite my mixed feelings, there are some aspects of this promo that are completely positive, with no downside. For one, the damn thing exists! NBC has spent the last ten years or so tearing their soap stable apart show by show, until the shadow that calls itself Days of Our Lives is all that's left. It's completely uncharacteristic of their attitude toward daytime that they went to the expense of shooting a special Days promo like this. You simply have to see it as a positive sign and hope for a few more.

Not only did they go to the expense of shooting the promo, but they went the extra mile with it and did it as a location shoot, adding a lush, realistic feel to the clip. That's the kind of luxury soaps never get these days. I can't remember the last time the show did an outdoor shoot. Maybe the promo is a sign we'll get some location shoots on the show soon as well. That would be nice.

You can't fault the network for making a super clip, that's for sure. I just want to see some of the things that make the promo so special happen to the show as well. Time will tell if that happens.

*Not that I blame her. I'm taking drugs to try and forget the whole stupid story myself.

Elementary, old chum!

Or maybe not?



I think the Boy Wonder's been neglecting his homework while on those late night anti-crime patrols.

My Fave YouTube of the Moment

In Honor of Comic Convention Season!

I haven't been to a comic convention in ages. The last one I made was APE in San Francisco the year my father died. In fact, I was there when he went into the hospital. Maybe it's about time to start thinking about that again. If I just knew for sure what was going to happen with my employment situation, the planning would be a little easier. Maybe next year? APE, MoCCA or SPX? Maybe WonderCon or Heroes World? Or NYCC? Hmmmm....

Stop It!

Went to a training for work the other week and the trainer used this video in his presentation. Don't know that I got much else out of the training, but this kind of made it worth it. I still laugh every time I see it. Bob Newhart has never not been totally awesome, you know?

The world wants to know....

Tommy James



Tiffany



or Weird Al?

Lord, the things that amuse me...

Maybe it's because mine doesn't do anything but continue to expand at an alarming rate!

Believe it or not, kids!

Believe it or not, there was a time when you couldn't just sit down with a hankering to see something on video like, say, Steve Earle's son doing an acoustic cover of an old Replacements song and just call it up with a few keystrokes.

Thankfully, those days are over....

A Gaggle of Go-Gos!

Still trying to artificially pump up my mood using old cheesy pop songs. Still not working, but I think it at least keeps me from making drastic decisions that have consequences I'm not prepared for.

And any excuse to dig up more Go-Gos vids can't be all bad. Right?

Betty's Diner

Carrie Newcomer's music is like comfort music for me. It makes me feel better all the way down to the bottom of my soul. (God, that sounded hokey.) I watched the PBS documentary on the Wilderness Plots project last night and now she's been on my mind all day. Just wanted to share that. Sometimes we all need to find our own Betty's Diner.

I know I'm not perfect, but God knows I try.

I'm pretty sure I'm an alright guy too, Todd. So I can't understand why everything sucks right now. Oh well.

BONUS: Here's the original music vid for the song from way back when, before Todd started twiddling with the lyrics. How young he looks!

This one's got some nerd appeal!

Some chick from some sci fi show is in it.



Old 97's "Dance with Me" from last year's excellent CD Blame it on Gravity

Just in the mood for Rhett Miller

This was one of my fave CD's a few years ago.



"Our Love"

Let this be a warning. The likelihood of a bunch of really depressing music vids being posted over the next few days is pretty high. If you haven't figured it out from my recent tweets, I'm in a pretty rough patch and it's not likely to get better any time soon. (Keith and I are fine, though. It's other stuff.)

Life with Chiquito is kind of like this

Crappy Day Antidote

It's been a crappy, crappy day. Crappy. Crappy. Just outright, totally, fundamentally, completely CRAPPY!

Did I mention it was crappy? Well, it was.

So, I need something to counteract all the crappiness. Yes I do. And right now, I can think of nothing better than...

BELINDA CARLISLE VIDEOS!

Ahhhh....Belinda singing ABBA! Life is good again!

We Have Days Yet to Live

So, if Days of Our Lives is through with cast-cutting and ready to move into the future, where does it go from here? Well, let's see what's left to work with first. At their core, good soaps are about families, so what's the score on that front these days?

HORTONS--Salem's premiere family has fallen on hard times of late. There simply aren't that many left. And those who are left make infrequent appearances.

Alice (rarely appears)
Maggie
Mickey (rarely appears)
Doug and Julie (still pop up from time to time)
Lucas
Will (Just returned)
Allie (baby)

BRADYS--In somewhat better shape. At least most of them appear on a regular basis.

Caroline
Max
Bo and Hope
Sami
Stephanie
Chelsea (soon to be leaving)
Ciara (baby)
Roman (rarely appears)
Grace (baby)

KIRIAKIS

Phillip
Victor
Brady

DIMERAS

Stefano
Tony (soon to be leaving)
Anna (I guess leaving too)
EJ
Nicole (if the wedding happens)
Johnny (baby)
Sidney (baby)

CARVERS

Lexie
Abe
Theo

FREE FLOATERS

Daniel
Chloe
Melanie
Kate
Mia (will undoubtedly be gone once the baby story wraps up)
Dr Baker (ditto)
Rafe

By the way, my divisions are totally arbitrary in some cases (such as placing Kate's sons in groupings with their father's families instead of with her). Others would probably do it differently. That's totally cool.

So, if that's the lay of the land, then what's to be done? Here's what I think.

There's still some deadwood. I think the trimming stopped a little bit early. A couple more judicious cuts could be made without affecting story too terribly. If they're not going to write for Roman, for example, they should cut Josh Taylor loose. And, honestly, would anyone really miss that whiny Melanie? For the most part, I think I could do without Dr Daniel as well, even though I'm nuts about Shawn Christian.

The veterans that are left should be played as frequently as possible, in meaty story. It's so delicious to see Victor and Stefano leading their families against each other these days! We need more of this, please. But Maggie (with or without Mickey) and Caroline need stories! I've loved Maggie the meddler throwing herself in the middle of the Daniel-Chloe-Lucas situation. Those recent scenes with Lucas in the bar, were a good reminder of what a powerhouse actress Suzanne Rogers is. More of her please.

Using the vets more often won't completely make up for the loss of John and Marlena, but it would help.

Salem needs more Hortons! They are the show's first family and their simply too thinned out. Aging Will and bringing him back from Switzerland was a good start. Bringing back Abby would also fill a gap in the younger crowd that's going to be created when Rachel Melvin leaves the show and Chelsea Brady is no more.

I know the Jeremy Horton thing a while back was a bust, but maybe it's time to try again. I like the idea of a Horton who isn't quite so goody-goody all the time. I think that, in a good story, the character could work. Especially if his return was followed by the return of his father Mike. Salem Hospital should always have a Horton working there.

Speaking of returns, what about bringing Bill Horton back from Africa, or wherever that clinic is located? Get some known name to recast the role on a short-term contract of 6-8 months and bring the character back home with a tropical disease to die. That would give the regulars on the canvas some meaty stuff to play, while keeping the character around long enough for viewers to both get used to him and care that he's dying. Plus, it might springboard some other short-term returns. And it would give Lucas a chance to have some interaction with his father.

A few more Bradys wouldn't hurt either. Bring Eric back. Sami shouldn't be left without any of her siblings, especially since her mother is gone. (By the way, now that Sami's back in Salem, I really want to see her grappling with not having her mom around, please.) Recast Shawn and get Martha Madison back as Belle. This would fill out the age gap between Bo and Hope and Ciara, return a favorite couple to the scene and bring back one of the best young actresses the show ever had.

The show's greatest strength is its couples. Days is known for creating legendary couples, probably moreso than any other show. Bo and Hope. Marlena and John (and before that Marlena and Roman). Doug and Julie. Mickey and Maggie. Shawn and Belle. These are couples that, no matter what happened, the viewer, and everyone else, always knew where their heart lay.

The show needs to get back to this concept. Stop splitting up Bo and Hope for stupid shit. This is a couple that should be facing all their obstacles together.
Not only has the show stopped creating couples like this, they've been actively torpedoing some of the couples that should and could be of that caliber. Why are Lucas and Sami not together? Why are Brady and Chloe not together?

As far as creating couples go, please, please, please, find someone for Max who is not his niece! I'm sorry, but adopted Brady or not, that's creepy! Darin Brooks is a cutie pie, a strong actor, and needs to be part of a fantastic coupling. Otherwise, I guess he'll be paired with Sami next!

It's time for Salem to become a little less hetero. Both As the World Turns and All My Children have done a good job of integrating gay characters into their core families. I'm thinking an Eric Brady-Jeremy Horton coupling would put the perfect gay spin on the classic Brady-Horton romance. In addition to fleshing out two characters that are relatively blank canvases at this point, it would also add story possibilities to their suggested returns.

Don't forget the connective tissue! It's the friendships and family ties that make soaps work. In between all the couplings and drama and big story, we have to see these little bits that remind us how the different characters are connected to each other. Please don't "island" characters in story so that they only interact with the same characters day in and day out. I know it's a cheaper approach, but the show is better when we see Stephanie having a heart to heart with her grandmother Caroline or Aunt Maggie getting involved with Lucas or Hope.

This also means that absences have consequences. Sami and Marlena were close. Marlena's departure leaves Sami with no immediate family in Salem, except for Roman. I want to see this worked into Sami's story so badly. She needs to miss her mother and commiserate with her father over it. Bo and Hope need to invite their niece over for dinner, so she won't be so lonely. I'd love to see Brady and Sami talking about missing their parents for a couple of scenes. There are all kinds of possibilities here. Hey, it would give Roman something to do!

Give Kate a life. Or at least a love life. I love the way she's playing Chloe right now. It's much more subtle than she's been in the past. But, now that her cancer scare is over, I'd really hate for her to go back to doing nothing but meddling in her kids' lives again.

There's a lot of real talent on the show now.
With the departures of Drake Hogestyn and Stephen Nichols, Days has lost two members of the macho bluster-snort-glare school of male soap lead acting, which is a good thing. With Josh Taylor's Roman currently without a storyline, that leaves Peter Reckell as the only b-s-g actor with lots of screen time, which is a lot easier to tolerate. For once, the show is populated with a lot of folks who are both good-looking and decent actors, with only one or two exceptions. This, of course, is a very good thing.

NEXT: Are there really Days without Marlena?

So how did I do?

Well, the results are in, and, as I feared, this was my worst time ever for the 5K. Still, I've let myself go so much over the last year that it's kind of surprising I could even finish at all this time. I've managed to drop a few pounds over the past several weeks. Not much, but it was enough to enable me to do the walk without being uncomfortable, over-tired, or overly winded. Still, I'm nowhere near where I should be or even where I used to be, in terms of physical shape.



Still, this is one of my best overall rankings. Typically, I end up in the bottom 500 or so participants. I can consistently walk a 15-16 minute mile when I push myself, which is a pretty good clip, but when 75% of the participants are runners, well, there's no way I'll ever be in the top 50% of the finishers. So, I'm pretty tickled to move up about 300 in the overall rankings.

My ranking among men is pretty much what it usually is, as is my ranking in my age range. I'm always on the tail-end of both groups. Whatever my reasons for doing this, it's certainly not to be the leader of the pack!

Some thoughts on the 2009 Anthem 5K

I've been doing this for several years now, and it's just dawned on me that I have no idea why. Initially, I started walking the Triple Crown races as a fitness thing, but I don't think that's really the reason any more. I never seriously train.* I only participate in these races, plus the Derby Festival Mini-Marathon, never any of the others that go on throughout the year. My times never improve. I'm still just barely dragging my ass across the finish at the longer races. And I'm still fat. So fitness as a motivator is just right out.

The races do raise money for a worthy local charity, which is nice. But surely it's a lot easier just to write a check than to shell out 35 bucks, get up at the crack of dawn, wander aimlessly through the streets of Louisville, sweat profusely, and spend the next day nursing aches and blisters? Surely.

So, for the moment, I'm leaning towards a combination of Spring fever, temporary insanity, and possession by evil spirits to explain my behavior, but while I ponder this mystery some more, here are some thoughts on this year's Anthem 5K, the first leg of the Triple Crown of Running.

The race started 30 minutes earlier this year, and I was almost late. I got there with no time to stretch or warm up, which explains today's extremely achey calf muscles.

I rode the back up bike downtown to the starting line. It's not that far from our house, and the combination of closed streets for the race, plus limited parking downtown, makes the bike a good choice. My bike has a flat, hence the back up bike, which, I discovered en route, has no rear brakes.

The race had a new route this year, which was both good and bad. I loved walking through one of the older neighborhoods down by the river, but one of the things that keeps me moving for the last half of any of the races is knowing what's coming up. When I'm getting tired and running out of steam, knowing where the mile markers are and which streets we'll be taking helps motivate me. I can only make it through the last three miles of the mini by counting off the streets in my head.

There was a woman at the starting line waving what looked like a plastic version of Thor's hammer. I'm still pondering that one.

One of the discouraging things about being a walker in the 5K race is the realization that by the time you reach the first mile marker, the fastest runners are crossing the line.

I had on of my worst times this year: 51 minutes. Usually, I'm at least 5-6 minutes faster than that.

But I did cross the finish line in time to get a couple of Cinnamon Crunch bagels from the Panera booth. Sometimes they run out of them before the walkers show up.

The walkers were sequestered up an alley this year, in order to allow all the runners to start before we did. Thanks to this arrangement, it was eight minutes after the start of the race before I crossed the starting line. and despite this arrangement, there were still runners trying to bulldoze their way through the walkers. (And complaining because we were in front of them.)**

It's beyond me why the rules say no strollers allowed, but the race marshalls never say anything to the folks who bring them. Last year, I was almost run down by a woman running with her racing stroller in front of her.

It was a gorgeous day for the race. Sunny and warm, it felt like the long winter has ended at last.

When I crossed the finish line, the DJ was playing (and I'm not making this up) "It's Raining Men!" Fitting.

I certainly enjoyed participating again this year. I just wish I knew why I did it.

Next race: Rodes City Run (10 K) in a couple of weeks.

*Well, I did join a training group last year, to somewhat less than satisfactory results.

**I get tired of the complaints about walkers I hear. I pay the same fee as those guys do to be there. I try to start as far back in the crowd as I can. But there's always somebody back there trying to push through. I'm not sure what else one can do.

These Are the Days of Our Lives

I pulled the latest Soap Opera Digest out of the mailbox last week to find the news that Days of Our Lives has let another popular veteran couple go. This time it's Steve and Kayla, played by Stephen Nichols and Mary Beth Evans. Adding insult to injury, instead of a send-off into the sunset of happy soap-couple land, the characters are going to simply stop appearing. In fact, their last scenes have already aired.

I can only imagine the outrage on the soap internet over this. (I have to imagine it, as going to soap sites and boards scares me even more than going to the comics internet. Some of those people are looney!) But as far as I'm concerned, it's not a bad move.

Most soaps have spent the last couple of years bringing back favorite characters from the past in desperate attempts to boost ratings. It's a problematic approach. For one thing, it's not cheap, and most shows are pretty cash-strapped these days. For another, once you bring someone back, you need to write for them and use them. Unfortunately, most shows only have the idea for the initial story to bring the characters back (and usually it's a 'big event' kind of thing), but very little idea how to fit them into the existing canvas afterward, resulting in very expensive supporting characters and fans who feel like they've been deceived by the promise of old characters who rarely appear.

As far as I'm concerned, bringing back Steve and Kayla a couple of years ago was an ill-advised move made during James Reilly's last disastrous turn as head writer. As the ratings continued to plummet, the show started going crazy bringing back old faves, only to sideline them in some of the lamest stories, doing nothing but rehashing things they did on their original runs.

Look! Frankie Brady's back! What's he doing? Well, he's kind of trapped in a really dumb story that's trying to recreate his teenage love story with Jennifer Horton! Oh, and there's Carrie and Austin! Doing what? Recreating their endless romantic rivalry with Lucas and Sami. Yay! Just what we wanted to see! And so on and so forth.

Even though Steve and Kayla's recent run was mostly handled by other writers, thus avoiding the Reilley re-run run around, it pretty quickly became obvious that no one knew what to do with them. Once Steve the mind-controlled killer suddenly became Steve the loving husband again, there went their story. Everything else fell way flat. Kayla preggers? Please! At her age? Ava, the mobster moll from Steve's amnesiac past? Yeesh!

Where they seemed to work best was as supporting characters--parents to Stephanie, siblings and friends to Bo and Hope. I do think the show will be poorer for cutting out yet another bit of connective tissue that binds the families together, but these are characters with too much history and too much potential to be reduced to that role alone. It's better that Days cut its losses and move on.

According to SOD, Executive Producer Ted Corday has said that the cast-cutting is over. The show is now in its lean, mean fighting shape for its fight for survival on NBC. I'm not sure that Days really has a fighting chance here. NBC over the past decade or so has demonstrated that it is more than willing to give soaps the ax, even shows with 40+ year histories like Days. And fan confidence in the show is pretty low right now, largely due to the firings of Deidre Hall and Drake Hogestyn. For too many people, John and Marlena are Days of Our Lives, and those people are pretty pissed off right now. All in all, it's going to be an uphill battle.

NEXT: Some thoughts about what the show needs to do now.

Cashing In

Roger's post last week about Johnny Cash reminded me that I had been saving up some Cash videos in my drafts waiting for a chance to turn them into a post or two. Reading his reflections brought to mind a few of my own and finally prompted me to put my own Cash post together.

(You can call it riding Roger's coat tails or copying his inspiration, If you insist. Me, I call it synergy!)

Cash was pretty much a standard musical presence in my house, it seems. My mother was always particularly fond of Southern and bluegrass gospel tunes. I have a lot of memories of her singing with the radio or by herself, especially when she was doing the dishes.

One that she sang quite often was "Daddy Sang Bass," usually the chorus. When I was about five years old or so, or so the story goes, I hit the age where I was too old for the nursery at church. They didn't have children's church at that time, so I had to go to "big church" to sit with my mother and grandparents. Knowing my mother, I'm sure that I must have gotten many lectures reminders about the importance of sitting quietly in church and behaving and all that. Knowing my grandmother, she probably had a purse full of mints to keep me quiet.

So, the first Sunday in "big church" comes around, we're all assembled. In good Baptist fashion, the first hymn is announced. Everyone stands. My mother helps me to find the right page, so I can be like the adults. And everyone starts to sing.

Now at this point, I'm an early reader at best. Mastery of the hymnal with it's strange layouts and musical notes is probably beyond me. Not too mention the fact that I'm not familiar with the music in "big church." Nonetheless, Mom notices that I seem to be singing along with everyone else.

Curious, she leans down to hear what I'm actually singing:

Daddy sang Bass
Mama sang tenor
Me and little brother would join right in there

At which point, she says she had to sit down to keep from laughing loud enough to distract everyone else.

That was the Statler Brothers and the Carter Family singing along with him, in case you didn't know.

When I was in middle school, I had to have surgery. It had to be rescheduled a couple of times because I kept getting sick right beforehand. My dad was stationed in Germany at the time, but we were living in Kentucky. When the surgery finally happened, he came home for a couple of weeks on leave. He brought my a stack of 8-tracks (God, I am old) to listen to while I was in recovery. The two that I remember most were greatest hits collections--Beach Boys and Johnny Cash. I played both of them over and over and over.

Both of these next two songs were on the Cash tape. I've always loved both of them because they showcase his sense of humor, an attribute that I think gets overlooked a lot of times when people are discussing his life. I do have to admit, though, that I really didn't "get" the second one until I grew up and started voting. When I was a kid, I thought the line about the Methodist was pretty funny.





I'm not sure whether either of them truly qualifies as a "hit" per se, but they were a part of that particular tape. Until the internet came along, however, I couldn't get Keith to believe in the existence of either song! They're just not what people think of then they think of Johnny Cash, but they're among my favorite Cash tunes.

Another much disputed song in my house is this one. For years Keith tried to tell me that I was getting confused about the old Kenny Rogers song "Ruby (Don't Take Your Love to Town)." As if!

January is the cruelest month...

Actually, the quote is “April is the cruelest month,” but, for me, as far as 2009 is concerned, April is going to have a long way to go to make up for January. I’ve been sick twice, for several days at a time, which stole large chunks of the month away from me. Plus, for the past several days, we’ve been exiled to a hotel due to a power outage caused by winter storms. And now, the month is over and I’ve not been able to do half of what I planned on doing, including that the weekend trip that the aforementioned storms scuttled. So you can see I’m not that enamored with the month at this moment. Oh well.

The whole storm thing has been fascinating in many ways, annoying in some ways, and terrifying in others. The weather started getting bad last Sunday and Monday, with the first snowfall. By Tuesday, we had graduated through snow and sleet to full-fledged ice storms. Wednesday, we awoke, along with much of the city and a good part of the state, to no power.

Keith went to work, but I decided against showering in a freezing house. We called the vet as soon as they opened to see about boarding the cats. Luckily the vet’s office did have power. Bennie is 16 and doesn’t handle the cold very well at all. We wanted to get her some place warm, if at all possible. They called back after ten and said they could take them. Keith didn’t even have the car dug out at this point.

He kept digging and I went on a hunt in the dark for the cages. I only found two, so the boys had to share, which normally causes problems, but they were so freaked out by the cold that they just went instantly still and quiet in the cage. Bennie was so freaked out by everything that she didn’t even run when the cage came out, which is her usual behavior. I was thankful for that. She’s fat. She’s old. But when she wants to get away from the cage, she’s fast. Running after her through the dark house would not have been fun. I’m old. I’m fat. And I’m slow.

She did however, immediately commence her cries of protest at being in the cage. And she didn’t stop until we got to the vet. Honestly, for an old lady, she sure can curse.

After finally getting the car out (which took several more minutes after the cages were loaded), we discovered that the easiest routes to the vet were blocked by fallen trees. At this point, none of the streets were cleared of snow, ice, or debris, so the five minute jaunt to the vet took half an hour. At one point, we were actually stuck half way up a huge hill with an SUV barreling down at us. The one slightly clear lane up the hill zigged and zagged around piles of fallen branches. Avoiding the SUV (who never stopped or paused once), cost us our momentum on the hill, so we ended up backing down the hill, around the branches and back to level ground. And all the while, Bennie kept up her monologue of profanities.

After the cats were dropped off, Keith went to work and I went home. After spending the day constantly adding layers and blankets, I told Keith there was no way we could stay in the house. Coming home night after night to a dark house was bad enough when the power was out in September. There was no way I was even going to consider throwing freezing cold into the mix. Especially since, based on past experience, it could take several days for the power to be restored.

I packed several bags with clothes, computers, munchies, medicines, and reading material. When Keith came home, we loaded up and headed out. While we were loading, our neighbors were packing up too. We had no idea if we could find a place to stay or not. We checked out a couple of extended stay motels, but one had no power and the office at the other one was closed. Then we passed a Red Roof Inn with a sign advertising weekly specials.

Just as we were walking in, a woman was turning in her key. Her sister had called her and reported that the power was back on at her house. When we asked for a room, they gave us her key and told us it was our lucky day. They’d been turning folks away for hours.

Incidentally, there’s a Waffle House in front of the place, and it just happens to be the same Waffle House Keith and I went to the night my father died. Coincidence?

The room isn’t much, but it is warm. It’s been interesting trying to fit both our plus-sized persons on one full-sized bed, but we’ve managed. We’ve been kind of treating it like an unexpected vacation, so it’s been a fun change of pace. The only downside is missing the kitties.

We’ll be checking out tomorrow and heading back home. The power is on and there’s lots to do back there. Plus, we’ll have three petulant felines to appease. The temp's rising and everything is melting!


Fascinating things about the aftermath of an icestorm:

Seeing all the trees bent over double from the weight of the ice. It’s beautiful, creepy, and dangerous all at the same time.

The way everything is encased in ice. Not covered, but more like coated all the way around.

Hearing the ice crack and pop when it starts to melt.

The sky was grey for days! Combined with all the ice coating everything, it was like living in a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale or a Little Nemo comic strip.

Turning on the national news and hearing stories about Kentucky. For some reason all the coverage centered on the little burg west of here where I grew up. Nothing is more bizarre than seeing Leitchfield, Kentucky on CNN! (By the way, I still cannot reach my mother. Been trying for days.)

Driving through familiar areas at night. Between the lack of power and the ice everywhere, even places that I know like the back of my hand were strange and unfamiliar. It’s really unnerving to drive down a street and realize that the only light for blocks is coming from your headlights.