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January 31, 2009

A modge podge of items

The number-one worst month of the year (for me anyway) is almost over, finally. This year January was worse than usual--with the exception of a few hours on the 20th--and the nadir was getting the news that John Updike will never write another word.
"How was your day?" asked Moo, as I trudged into the house.
"Not very good," I sighed, sniffling a bit.
"Uh oh. Who died?" Cutting right to the chase, as usual.
"You're crying about an author?" exclaimed Herself, incredulously. She cannot imagine crying about the death of somebody who writes books, any more than she can imagine crying about a song that falls from Top 40 rotation. Good for her. It's better to be oblivious, is the lesson I continue to learn, over and over.

It's better not to like anybody, or anything, too much. Not people, who leave, die, stop liking you, stop loving you, get old, get boring, get to be just like you in other words. Not pets, who make you sneeze, claw the furniture, claw you, claw each other, pee on your clothes, vomit on the carpets, get old, get sick, force you to make the choice to end their life, or do it themselves, without even letting you know it's the plan. Not food, which turns evil while appearing wholesome: the peanutbutter you spread on toast every morning--ol' reliable--harbors bloody-flux bacteria (ditto tomatoes and spinach); sushi gives you intestinal parasitic worms; and you can't enjoy tuna or beef without having to contemplate your role in the species' demise or in the flagrant waste of the earth's resources.

Shoot that poison arrow to my heart, as the song goes. --Oh, hold on; that's what February has to offer. I can hardly wait.

Posted by JudyLa at 06:00 AM | Comments (0)