Weblog 248
November 14, 2010~ 12:00 am
We spent Saturday evening with the grandkids. Pizza and storytelling, lots of laughs-- big eyes, faces concentrating so hard I swear you could hear the hinges of the brain windows opening wide, wide, WIDER. As human beings, we never seem grow tired of hearing and telling stories, and once I get into the swing of it, I feel my own mind opening and flying. Tonight it was two stories made up right on the spot- "Butterfly Boy" (and for Bill, who's really into all war themes right now, and because Veteran's Day has just passed) "Three Fingers, One Thumb- The Story Of One Man's Rescue" ...lol. I often think about how impressionable kids are, and how easily they are delighted or frightened by what they hear.
Bill's greatest fear right now is Frankenstein. Holly says sometimes at night, he'll wander out into the living room looking worried and upset, and ask her to write the name 'Frankenstein' in a circle, then draw a diagonal slash through it and hang it on his bedroom door. (Such magical ministations rendered by an all-powerful parent can keep chimeras at bay during the wee hours.) Why Frankenstein??
He's odd-looking and BIG, certainly..... but oh my, how sad he always seemed. So lonely...always trying to be understood. Always trying to make contact with another and failing- over and over.
Yet he's the stuff of nightmares and the disturber of little ones' sleep. (I always thought he was such a sad sack, my heart went out to him.)
So who was my monster? Who was the one who scared the bejeezus out of me when I was a kid? There's only one......
Dracula! (And not Bela Lugosi's Dracula, but the 1960's vintage Christopher Lee....handsome, feral, hissing. LOL!!!)
Man! That fella sure could frighten me! (Lugosi was too 'silent film' stylized, corny and almost operatic.) But Lee was TALL and rabid. Plus........he was handsome as the dickens!
Even with his eyes rimmed in red, he was one good-looking man, and therefore confusing to me. I found him attractive yet feared him at the same time, meaning: I could've easily become one of his zombie brides if he'd been a real fella. That's scary when you think about it-- and really no different than a 'monster' like Ted Bundy, whom I've often thought could have persuaded me to help him put something into his Volkswagon-- seeing his arm in a cast and sling, his manners impeccable. (The monsters who can get to you are the scary ones. At least for me.) But never, never that poor misfit/lonely Frankenstein. He was hang-dog homely.
And Christopher Lee's good looks persist to this day.
At the age of 88 in 2009, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth (who's about a hundred and fifty now. lol) Some guys never lose that edge, no matter what age. He's still acting-- I'm still attracted --and he's yet the most likely character to scare me silly and puncture my neck. LOL!!
Being with the kids made me think of things that made me scared when I was their age........ and now. Now it's mostly mundane stuff, but much more threatening and real..... like cancer.... old age.... poverty.... becoming helpless... and none of it attractive in the least, all of it wearing the ugly face of what it is. (I prefer the kids' wriggly matinee fears because they're survivable.... you simply walk out into the sunlight once again. And how sweet is that?)
November 14, 2010~ 6:00 am
Just up here for a bit before going back to bed and reading, but I realized I forgot to mention my daughter's newest pet. He's a wonder!
He's a Halloween Crab, bright red, black, with large purple claws in the front, his eyes on little stalks. LOL!! I can't for the life of me remember what she named him, but with something this distinctive, name or no-name, you remember him. Holly took the kiddoes to the Steel City Reptile Expo in Washington, Pa. on Saturday, and Bill was very excited about a ball python that was the door prize (and they didn't win, thank goodness. LOL!!!) The snake was actually a very pretty little light-yellow thing (I was just on the Expo's website) but with few good meals, that thing's gonna GROW.
The halloweeny guy is now companion to three other hermit crabs at Holly's house. When I was checking out the new addition and peering into the tank, two older residents, big shells on their backs, were checking out the additional 'drinking pool', claws moving and lively. Normally those guys are ALWAYS HIDING yet there they were, busy-bodying around like any neighbors scoping out the new tenant and his stuff! LOL!!!
Holly's fourth crab had an unfortunate incident and is now kept at her bedside in the 'hospital tank'. (While molting their old shells, exoskeletal creatures are soft and vulnerable to others of their own kind) until the newly exposed flesh hardens on the outside. (Yes! The poor fella, new pink claws shiny and appetizing, was slowly being cannibalized by one of his tank mates!) Holly was HORRIFIED-- and promptly removed him to his own tank. Not knowing if it would help him or kill him, she applied hydrogen peroxide to his wounds and has been tending him daily. With half his appendages gone, he's finally rallying and has begun to eat, but Holly has to move him around to get to his food. "He's 'special needs'," she said. (I'm lucky to have given birth to such a kind and fascinating kid.) When I asked her if he could live like that, Holly said crabs 'regenerate' missing parts, but they have to wait for the next molt, when perfect claws will again pop out for this stricken guy. I hope he makes it.
While looking for an example picture of the halloween crab, I found THIS delightful photo.
It's the CUTEST FROG IN THE WORLD!! I LOVE HIM! Looking at him made me so happy, I had to grab the picture and post it here. "Hey, little buddy... you're one fine looking frog!" Very smooth and friendly. Wide, loopy smile... A GOOD GUY!
November 15, 2010~ 5:00 pm
I just had a hard, hard BELLY LAUGH......still wiping my eyes here....(and this, on the heels of a perfectly flat, BLECH Monday full of fog this morning and gray skies all day.) See how easy it is to get spoiled after a week of gorgeous weather? Anyway, today was a typical Monday--- till I laughed my ass off and now feel 100 percent better just looking at THIS GUY!
(Eyes too big for his stomach??) LOL!!! You will delight in this montage of 50 CHIPMUNKS STUFFING THEIR FACES. OMG......I love them!
(Of course, on the site where I just found the link, some tightass was griping about how someone 'just snatches pictures off the web without proper attribution'.......gawd! WTF do they think the internet is??? It's a stream of social consciousness, not a fricking art gallery. HOARD your pictures then.... charge admission.)
Bet you'll get a lot of takers that way in this day and age. LOL!!
November 16, 2010~ 4:30 pm
Feeling 'under the weather' today. I think I may have a cold coming on.....so I cancelled my visit with mum. All I want to do this evening is crawl into bed, take some vitamin C and sleeeeep for a LOOOOONG time -(at least till I have to get up tomorrow.) The weather isn't helping. It's rainy and windy; has been most of the day. The one bright spot was an email from Holly, keeping me apprised of what is going on with the ailing hermit crab (whom I now know is named 'Zachary')- the poor fella who was being eaten alive by his tank mates as he was molting. He needed a rescuer, and Holly was the one. We all need to reach out and help wherever, whomever, whatever we can....it makes us more civilized.
That sweet story gave me such a boost today! How wonderful to have a feeling of connection to other living beings-- especially the helpless ones. (I have a feeling Zachary was stressed by his proximity with those who were gnawing on him recently, I know I would be!) It's that kind of caring that makes the world less of a jungle, more of a home.....for all of us. It reminds me of one of my favorite Emily Dickinson poems...
And here's Zachary! Holly sent me his picture in his new crabitat!
To me, to be fully human is to feel a connection to the whole planet and all that lives, and to have a heart as wide open to compassion as possible.
My daughter does, and I am very proud of her.
(And now I'm off to bed. Nighty-nite!)
***
(Return To Weekly Archives)
We spent Saturday evening with the grandkids. Pizza and storytelling, lots of laughs-- big eyes, faces concentrating so hard I swear you could hear the hinges of the brain windows opening wide, wide, WIDER. As human beings, we never seem grow tired of hearing and telling stories, and once I get into the swing of it, I feel my own mind opening and flying. Tonight it was two stories made up right on the spot- "Butterfly Boy" (and for Bill, who's really into all war themes right now, and because Veteran's Day has just passed) "Three Fingers, One Thumb- The Story Of One Man's Rescue" ...lol. I often think about how impressionable kids are, and how easily they are delighted or frightened by what they hear.
Bill's greatest fear right now is Frankenstein. Holly says sometimes at night, he'll wander out into the living room looking worried and upset, and ask her to write the name 'Frankenstein' in a circle, then draw a diagonal slash through it and hang it on his bedroom door. (Such magical ministations rendered by an all-powerful parent can keep chimeras at bay during the wee hours.) Why Frankenstein??
He's odd-looking and BIG, certainly..... but oh my, how sad he always seemed. So lonely...always trying to be understood. Always trying to make contact with another and failing- over and over.
Yet he's the stuff of nightmares and the disturber of little ones' sleep. (I always thought he was such a sad sack, my heart went out to him.)
So who was my monster? Who was the one who scared the bejeezus out of me when I was a kid? There's only one......
Dracula! (And not Bela Lugosi's Dracula, but the 1960's vintage Christopher Lee....handsome, feral, hissing. LOL!!!)
Man! That fella sure could frighten me! (Lugosi was too 'silent film' stylized, corny and almost operatic.) But Lee was TALL and rabid. Plus........he was handsome as the dickens!
Even with his eyes rimmed in red, he was one good-looking man, and therefore confusing to me. I found him attractive yet feared him at the same time, meaning: I could've easily become one of his zombie brides if he'd been a real fella. That's scary when you think about it-- and really no different than a 'monster' like Ted Bundy, whom I've often thought could have persuaded me to help him put something into his Volkswagon-- seeing his arm in a cast and sling, his manners impeccable. (The monsters who can get to you are the scary ones. At least for me.) But never, never that poor misfit/lonely Frankenstein. He was hang-dog homely.
And Christopher Lee's good looks persist to this day.
At the age of 88 in 2009, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth (who's about a hundred and fifty now. lol) Some guys never lose that edge, no matter what age. He's still acting-- I'm still attracted --and he's yet the most likely character to scare me silly and puncture my neck. LOL!!
Being with the kids made me think of things that made me scared when I was their age........ and now. Now it's mostly mundane stuff, but much more threatening and real..... like cancer.... old age.... poverty.... becoming helpless... and none of it attractive in the least, all of it wearing the ugly face of what it is. (I prefer the kids' wriggly matinee fears because they're survivable.... you simply walk out into the sunlight once again. And how sweet is that?)
November 14, 2010~ 6:00 am
Just up here for a bit before going back to bed and reading, but I realized I forgot to mention my daughter's newest pet. He's a wonder!
He's a Halloween Crab, bright red, black, with large purple claws in the front, his eyes on little stalks. LOL!! I can't for the life of me remember what she named him, but with something this distinctive, name or no-name, you remember him. Holly took the kiddoes to the Steel City Reptile Expo in Washington, Pa. on Saturday, and Bill was very excited about a ball python that was the door prize (and they didn't win, thank goodness. LOL!!!) The snake was actually a very pretty little light-yellow thing (I was just on the Expo's website) but with few good meals, that thing's gonna GROW.
The halloweeny guy is now companion to three other hermit crabs at Holly's house. When I was checking out the new addition and peering into the tank, two older residents, big shells on their backs, were checking out the additional 'drinking pool', claws moving and lively. Normally those guys are ALWAYS HIDING yet there they were, busy-bodying around like any neighbors scoping out the new tenant and his stuff! LOL!!!
Holly's fourth crab had an unfortunate incident and is now kept at her bedside in the 'hospital tank'. (While molting their old shells, exoskeletal creatures are soft and vulnerable to others of their own kind) until the newly exposed flesh hardens on the outside. (Yes! The poor fella, new pink claws shiny and appetizing, was slowly being cannibalized by one of his tank mates!) Holly was HORRIFIED-- and promptly removed him to his own tank. Not knowing if it would help him or kill him, she applied hydrogen peroxide to his wounds and has been tending him daily. With half his appendages gone, he's finally rallying and has begun to eat, but Holly has to move him around to get to his food. "He's 'special needs'," she said. (I'm lucky to have given birth to such a kind and fascinating kid.) When I asked her if he could live like that, Holly said crabs 'regenerate' missing parts, but they have to wait for the next molt, when perfect claws will again pop out for this stricken guy. I hope he makes it.
While looking for an example picture of the halloween crab, I found THIS delightful photo.
It's the CUTEST FROG IN THE WORLD!! I LOVE HIM! Looking at him made me so happy, I had to grab the picture and post it here. "Hey, little buddy... you're one fine looking frog!" Very smooth and friendly. Wide, loopy smile... A GOOD GUY!
November 15, 2010~ 5:00 pm
I just had a hard, hard BELLY LAUGH......still wiping my eyes here....(and this, on the heels of a perfectly flat, BLECH Monday full of fog this morning and gray skies all day.) See how easy it is to get spoiled after a week of gorgeous weather? Anyway, today was a typical Monday--- till I laughed my ass off and now feel 100 percent better just looking at THIS GUY!
(Eyes too big for his stomach??) LOL!!! You will delight in this montage of 50 CHIPMUNKS STUFFING THEIR FACES. OMG......I love them!
(Of course, on the site where I just found the link, some tightass was griping about how someone 'just snatches pictures off the web without proper attribution'.......gawd! WTF do they think the internet is??? It's a stream of social consciousness, not a fricking art gallery. HOARD your pictures then.... charge admission.)
Bet you'll get a lot of takers that way in this day and age. LOL!!
November 16, 2010~ 4:30 pm
Feeling 'under the weather' today. I think I may have a cold coming on.....so I cancelled my visit with mum. All I want to do this evening is crawl into bed, take some vitamin C and sleeeeep for a LOOOOONG time -(at least till I have to get up tomorrow.) The weather isn't helping. It's rainy and windy; has been most of the day. The one bright spot was an email from Holly, keeping me apprised of what is going on with the ailing hermit crab (whom I now know is named 'Zachary')- the poor fella who was being eaten alive by his tank mates as he was molting. He needed a rescuer, and Holly was the one. We all need to reach out and help wherever, whomever, whatever we can....it makes us more civilized.
"I introduced Zachary back into the crabitat yesterday. He seemed so happy to be back amongst his peers. I left for awhile, and when I returned I found him without his shell hunkered down under the driftwood. Crabalicious was now in his shell. Hermit crabs must have a shell not only to protect their soft bottom half but also so they do not dry out. This was definitely not a good situation. Because he has no right side appendages, he is unable to place himself in a new shell. So, I dunked a different shell in distilled water and dunked Zachary and gently tucked him into the new shell. Within five minutes he had attached himself and was eating out of my hand. I reintroduced him again, because I know that they are social beings. At four in the morning, I checked on him and again found him without a shell under the driftwood. This time, no other crab had taken it. Zachary had just abandoned the shell. This is not normal crab behavior, and indicates stress. I repeated my earlier procedure with a different shell and put him back in the hospital tank. This morning he was still in the new shell.
It looks as if I will have to create his own crabitat. Maybe I will give him supervised social time everyday. This crab has really touched me. It has no fear of me, and accepts all help. I believe it knows that I would not harm it, that I only want the best for it."
That sweet story gave me such a boost today! How wonderful to have a feeling of connection to other living beings-- especially the helpless ones. (I have a feeling Zachary was stressed by his proximity with those who were gnawing on him recently, I know I would be!) It's that kind of caring that makes the world less of a jungle, more of a home.....for all of us. It reminds me of one of my favorite Emily Dickinson poems...
If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain; If I can ease one life the aching, Or cool one pain, Or help one fainting robin Unto his nest again, I shall not live in vain.
And here's Zachary! Holly sent me his picture in his new crabitat!
To me, to be fully human is to feel a connection to the whole planet and all that lives, and to have a heart as wide open to compassion as possible.
My daughter does, and I am very proud of her.
(And now I'm off to bed. Nighty-nite!)
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