Mountain Blog

Not How It Should Be but How It Is

I get up early and sit on the side of the bed, waiting for the back pain to strike me. For the past three days, it hasn't. That's good, because prior to that, the muscle spasms made me an invalid until three pain pills dulled them enough so I could stand up straight.

My dogs - Stella and Barkley - want out. I can't let them both out at the same time. If I do, they disappear and don't come home till after dark. Bad dogs! Bad dogs!

Barkley goes out first while Stella whines. Barkley does what he has to do and comes inside where he huddles unde the dining room table to escape the flies.

Yes, my dog Barkley is afraid of flies. What can I say? To make matters worse, we have an outbreak of the insects right now. Barkley lives in terror.

I make coffee for my wife and me as the cats - Tiger and Toes - pace and meow. They expect a bit of tuna every morning and if it isn't delivered, they pout the remainder of the day.

Toes, the fat cat, eats all of hers. Tiger doesn't. Toes eats too fast and does a little recreational vomiting on the living room carpet. I clean it up. Then I look out the window and notice the birds are frantic. They are out of food. I hastily fill the feeder then cram a new suet cake in in the suet feeder.

Next comes food for Bernard the Beta, the new member of the family. He is excited as I shake a few flakes of food in his watery little world. The food god has once again saved him from starvation by dropping manna from the sky.

I have put it off for as long as I can. I turn the TV to CNN, grab a cup of coffee for my wife and me and sit in my recliner while Barkley joins me and slinks behind the chair where he feels safe from the flies.

What's that noise? It's Stella scratching at the back door. She wants inside. I get up to let her in and Barkley follows men snapping at a couple of flies as we make our way to the back door.

Back in the recliner, I watch in horror and sadness at what's happening on the Gulf Coast. I cheer for Gen. Russ Honore and sadly shake my head at some of the idiocy I see and hear. I know I shouldn't be watching this, but it's the NASCAR syndrome. It's why people watch car races, I suppose. To see disasters.

It's the way my days have gone in the last week - taking care of business and watching the disaster and the worse disaster of the aftermath.

Today, I changed my habits a bit. I spent some time browsing the Internet searching for the best buys on emergency supplies, things that will keep me and my family safe for a couple of weeks if and when tragedy strikes and the government fails me as it most certainly will.

Provide for the common defense? Promote the general welfare? Pure unadulterated fantasy.

posted by Dave Peyton @ 6:50 PM