Majestik Kreechurz R Wee!

My workday typically begins with a ritual- the initial walkthrough of the site, checking for any problems, errors, and omissions, reporting those I cannot correct and correcting those I can. For this particular ritual, I usually have my feline co-workers accompany me. They get to stretch their legs and engage their brains as we walk the length of the property. The sight of me with my two orange-and-white shadows is a running joke among our staff and contractors, and occasionally, I'll have a conversation with a pedestrian looking over our perimeter fence who will do a double take and say, "What's up with the cats?" Yeah, I'm kinda like their mom and they can be clingy at times.

The initial walkthrough takes me to a section of the property where a lot of the behind-the-scenes work takes place- the workshop is nestled in a wooded area adjacent to a marshy estuarine environment. The guys in the shop have set up a table and some chairs so they can eat their lunch in this beautiful spot, and I like to take an occasional break to take in a particularly beautiful sunset or an interesting animal visitor. On Sunday, I paused to soak in a little sunshine and to let the cats explore for a bit. Here's a picture of them, posing in a grandiose fashion that only felines can pull off:

It's hard to see the goofy furballs (or is that furry goofballs?) that they usually are while looking at this picture. These two should be posing in front of a library.

Post-Solstice Solace

Last summer, I had the great good fortune to visit one of the most supportive members of the bloggerhood, Thunder. On the door to his world-famous Cacapon Mountain hideaway, there is a sign reading WHEN THE WORLD BURDENS YOU SEEK THE SOLITUDE OF THE FOREST!

The last few days have been rough, me having learned of the deaths of two friends. Luckily, I work in a beautiful location, and though it is not heavily forested, it is a wonderful place in which to take refuge when the world burdens me (I'm really fortunate to have a job which tends to be a stress reliever rather than a source of stress). Today was a glorious sunny day, albeit a chilly one. Most of the snow from Friday's storm has melted and there are many signs of spring. I finally heard the welcome call of the red-winged blackbird, a surefire sign that spring has arrived. The robins (our American robins are large thrushes) have finally returned, and I saw a jaunty mockingnbird as well. I saw two male wood ducks, likely from last year's local brood, in our pond. There are black-headed scaups of uncertain provenance in the pond, likely mid-migration, and the hooded mergansers have returned to the ice-free waters. Perhaps most welcome of all (though I hate to play favorites), the killdeer, those comical noisy birds, so much like crazy windup toys, have returned. Watching the returning birds and listening to their calls is a surefire way to life one's sagging spirits.

Nature has a palliative power... when the world burdens you, take solace in the world.

Sad News in Bastardville

In the last few days, I have received some sad news.

On Wednesday, I learned that a co-worker who had been critically injured in a car accident last August died a week ago in a longterm care facility to which she had been transferred. She was a gentle soul and a kind heart. She was my age.

Today, I received an e-mail informing me that one of my colleagues in the children's sports program that I volunteer for had succumbed to cancer. He was a few years older than I am. He was a physical fitness fanatic, and a consummate athlete, but his finely honed body "betrayed" him in spite of his doing "everything right". This isn't the first time that a friend in the bloom of a strong middle age died shockingly young. The important thing to do now is to rally around his young son.

It's a tragedy to lose two friends so young, especially in such a short period of time. My reaction to loss is stoicism- while I was still in my teens, I lost three friends in a weekend... two to accidents, one to leukemia. I learned at a young age how to deal with tragedy, so I'll provide the stiff upper lip and the broad shoulder for others to cry on. For me, it's more about keeping the memory of my friends alive, and lending moral support to their survivors than it is about mourning.

Hooray for Spr...Oh, Crap

Today being the first day of Spring, I was excited to go outside and see...

Great, just effin' great... The real joke of it all is that, barring this one particular bit of the globe that I inhabit, this winter has been the warmest on record. Of course, right-wing idiots and corportate feudalists always chortle, "Heh, snow..." every winter, but the phenomenon is called global warming for a reason. Just because I'm in a snow globe doesn't mean that the world is a snow globe.

I think I'll post a video, how about a live version of the title track of so-called "one hit wonder" Modern English's bestselling album? Here is a reconstituted Modern English performing After the Snow:





It seems that "after the snow" would mean "at an unspecified future date", at least to the guy looking out his window at the falling precipitation.

Well Played, Legislator!

Via Pupienus Maximus at the mothership, we have a great legislative undermining of a discriminatory law by state representative Emily Virgin. Representative Virgin added to the "Oklahoma Religious Freedom Act", in reality a "we don't serve your kind here" law, an amendment that would force businesses to post announcements that they discriminate against certain potential customers:


Virgin amended the bill agreeing that is was fine to discriminate as long as you gave notice. All she was doing was saving everyone from embarrassment. Post a notice in your business, put it on your website and place it in your advertising. Hell, she even included race as a class you don’t have to serve in your business as long as you post it.


I like the bit about couching the bill in terms of avoiding those awkward face-to-face interactions, when the bigots have to figure out a way to couch their assholery in veiled terms. Better to make them broadcast their hate to the public to allow potential customers to make an educated decision about the businesses they patronize.

Brilliantly played, Rep. Virgin! If the bigots want to discriminate, make them wear their hate on the sleeve, or their front door and website.

Poll Cats

Today was a local election day. Typically, elections are held on Tuesdays, but yesterday being a holiday, the polls were open a day later. My workplace is a polling site, and there was a village mayoral election, so turnout was high for a non-presidential, non-November election.

When I arrived at work at 9PM, I found that there had been a bit of a kerfuffle on the job- the individual who armed the alarms onsite was not aware that Fred and Ginger were inside the building. The cats set off a motion detector and the police responded to the alarm. One of my co-workers ran out to disarm the alarm system and inform the police that there was no emergency. After he made sure the "emergency" had been handled, he found that the cats would not go calmly to the building they were assigned to "mouse". In fact, the cats followed him to our main building, which is where we host the polling site.

The cats caused a bit of a sensation... you'd think that people had never had dealings with cats before. My predecessor on site put them in a side room, where they would be out from underfoot. I arrived and let them out, so they could stretch their legs (I had to let Ginger outside so she could answer nature's call). Between the people oohing and cooing over the cats, there were others who were afraid that, if the cats got out of the building, they would "get attacked" or something, even though there was enough foot traffic to dissuade even the bravest of coyotes. I pointed out to one woman that these weren't housecats- "Look at the muscles on these cats, these are tough working cats, pretty as they are." I also pointed out that the cats knew where their food bowls were, so they wouldn't stray far. These cats follow me around a substantial piece of real estate at night, they aren't going anywhere. There's no need to worry about these two kittehs:

The cats were quite the hit. One fellow especially enjoyed hearing the story about the poor per diem worker who didn't realize that there were two cats.

Once things calmed down and the poll workers left, I was able to coax the cats into the building in which they are stationed on "rodent abatement" duties. A pocketful of cat snacks works wonders when one is trying to bribe two kittehs.

The Solemn Feast of St Patrick

Today marks the most solemn Feast of St Patrick. Today, I will be performing my religious devotions, among which are telling the beads beers... one pint of beer for each Ave, and after ten, a shot of Tullamore Dew for a Paternoster. Religious fervor is very hard on the liver, doncha know.

Because I will be occupied by my devotions all day, I figured I'd post a video of the Dubliners singing The Rocky Road to Dublin






Back in January, I posted a video of the Dropkick Murphys performing a rendition of the song. As I wrote back then, the song is pretty much 19th Century punk. Here's hoping that the road to Yonkers isn't so rocky tonight, unless by rocky we mean Rocky Sullivan's.

Lá Fhéile Pádraig Sona Daoibh, my dears!