Randomly...

So this is a pretty random post, just to get something written down because sometimes writing something - anything - is a good thing. I'm on the last night of yet another housesitting job, at a place where I really love being. I'm on a comfy couch, surrounded by old animals that have 'been there, done that' and gotten numerous t-shirts to prove it. There are three of them: Finoola the hound dog who came from a puppy mill and at 12 seems more like she's 30. Coco who has never slowed down a day in her life and at 14 acts more like she's 4. And Momma Cat, who is of an uncertain, but definitely older age and has borne a daughter, raised a daughter and tragically watched as her people buried that daughter. You want to know something? I LIKE old people, of any species. They KNOW things. And if you sit quietly, and don't run your mouth, they'll tell YOU the things that they know. Strange things many times, that have no place in the world we live in now, but things that once meant something, and might yet mean something again, considering the current youngs inability to learn from their own histories.

Anyway, I'm sitting here surrounded by all of these elder animals and I can't help but be swamped by ideas for stories. I mean, Coco has a leg that won't bend, half a tail and a penchant for continuous adventure. If she were a human, I'm sure she would have been a terrible pirate queen. Finoola on the other hand has lead a life of grim determination, like Scarlett O'Hara clutching her fist-full of earth and swearing that she will never go hungry again. Momma Cat, meanwhile has maintained her jaunty independence while raising an equally independent daughter and then subsequently seeing that daughter depart for the homefields long before her due time. There's an entire series of novels in those lives. There's books in all old peoples' lives. Not that young folks seem to notice nowadays. No one has time for old people anymore. They're just something that takes up all the time at the healthcare debates and smell funny. But I'd rather spend an hour with an 'old' person than a day with someone my age, for the most parts. You learn way more from the stories of those who have 'been there, done that' than you do from those who are still making their way in the world. If you want adventure, head out with your friends, or on your own. If you want a good story, settle down with someone who's been around long enough to have one to tell.



Momma Cat looking like she could take down a rino at full charge.



Coco walking the tracks with us. Crushing pennys and dodging trains is a favorite pastime where I am right now.


Finoola doesn't go on treks much these days, but she's the champion of the parlor and holding down pillows that might otherwise wonder off. And she is as gentle in nature as dandelion down.


I have to give credit to my sister, code name Fenris, for the photos. All but the one of Finoola are her doing. Including the legs in the oven that's now serving as my profile picture. I swear, the girl could fall down a flight of stairs holding a camera and still get a Pulitzer photo out of it.