The Times We Live In

It was when I met our mail carrier at our mail box that I noticed it-
A BIG puddle of bright red paint, reaching from the center of the road to the shoulder, immediately in front of our home.
"Yeah, I've seen several of those puddles along the way to get here", he said.
Tracks through the puddle indicated one car had already passed through. Fearful the paint would splash all over following car's bodywork, I pieced together sections of garden hose and tried to dissipate the puddle.
I was mostly successful, but remnants of the patch remained.
What would cause someone to dump blood-red paint in front of several homes along our road?
I called the Sheriff's Department.

"No, we've not had any other reports" said she, "but I'll call the City and see if they've had any."
I did some investigating on my own and found little spots of red paint on our side of the road, stretching half a mile West of us.

I've been very open about my political views. Was this done by someone marking republican homes in our area? The thought sent a chill down my spine.
Was the "trouble" I've been expecting about to begin? Did I need to get a long gun out of my safe and have it close at hand?
And so I thought about it all afternoon. Was there any OTHER explanation?

Four hours later I had my "Eureka" moment.
It was "trash pickup" day. I had pulled our trash can out for pickup the prior night. When the truck stopped to pick up our can, it apparently dripped the paint all over our side of the road and left spots of paint intermittently for at least half a mile West of us.
I sighed in relief, then picked up the phone again to report my thoughts to the Sheriff.
She laughed.
But it's a sign of how tense we all are in this political environment, isn't it?

I'm still preparing for trouble.

Using A Loose Rein

I'd hear this sound walking past his room:
PSSSSHHHHHSHHHHHH !
And it sounded as if spit had to be flying all over the room.
Peeking in the door I'd see my young son lying supine on his bed with his model of the "Enterprise D" held at arm's length, flying through space. Sometimes the Saucer Section would detach and go off on a mission separate from the main part of the spacecraft, then return and be re-attached. These maneuvers always required extra spitty sounds.

He watched "Star Trek, The Next Generation" religiously. Eventually, mostly to just have something in common with him, we started watching too.
The shows were well produced, well acted, and the stories stood alone even if you didn't particularly like SciFi.
He watched "Babylon 5". We watched "Battlestar Gallactica" together.
But he LOVED "Stargate, SG-1."

His schoolwork didn't mean much to him. His report cards showed his disinterest. And this made me angry enough once to literally jump up and down in the living room like a madman trying to get his attention devoted to getting his education.
But we never came down hard on him because of his TV watching.
Turns out, he WAS getting an education...
From the television.

His marks improved in college and he got a job immediately after graduation... with a company building a video game devoted to... Stargate SG-1.
He's a nationally-known expert on the movie and various Stargate series.
And his knowledge has earned him a living for years.

Now he has started a new venture; a podcast devoted to the show. And it is taking off.
It's exciting to see how many absolutely DEVOTED fans the show still has. In his first month now, his podcast audience has grown every week.

If you are a fan, or have any interest at all, give him a look.
And let me know what ya think.

Living In Rural America

So often, I'm just not in the mood to contribute here.
Is that because I'm able to rant on the "Book of Feces", as my friend Larry calls it?
Maybe.
Some snippet thoughts, just to post a post:

I love our neighborhood.
My "Chicago born and raised" wife is having trouble with it.
Neighbor to the West has Chickens.
And a large mixed Standard Poodle dog.
He's a love.
The chickens come into our West side yard and rid us of bugs and worms.
One of the chickens is a rooster.
He is a FINE specimen, and knows it.

Neighbor two doors to the East has chickens AND ducks.
The ducks waddle across our property into our pond.
They're fun to watch.
The chickens and ducks wander over and eat stuff I wouldn't wanta eat from our West yard.
One of these chickens is a cock.

Neighbor immediately to our East has two Chihuahua dogs.
These dogs prefer our home to theirs.
The MOMENT we show signs we are awake, they are in our laps...
Until 2130 hours.
We LOVE the dogs.
But they constantly bark at the Standard Poodle mix who also runs free in our yard.
BARK, BARK, BARK, BARK all day long.
The poodle doesn't care.

At about 0430 hours, the rooster to the West decides it is time for the sun to rise.
When he crows, the rooster to the East tries to convince him the sun won't come up unless he summons it.
Back and forth, back and forth...
I've decided the sound IS NOT "Cock-a-Doodle-Do!".
It is "Er-a-Roo-Aroo".
Believe me, I've heard it enough to know now.

Yes, we have our windows open in this beautiful Fall weather.
But we pay a price.
Dogs bark.
Roosters crow.
And "Miss Chicago" complains about it all.
She's worse than all the critters.
God be with me.

I'll try to post more than once monthly.
But no promises.