Monday, June 03, 2019

By Fred Owens

By Fred Owens, June 3, 2019

"Frog Hospital" got taken down from the masthead. We're putting it in the shop for an overhaul. We need new goals, new objectives and new readers, so we have to brainstorm all that. Or maybe Frog Hospital just needs a rest after twenty years. Your ideas and suggestions are welcome.

At our house in Santa Barbara, we had a new septic system installed -- no, that's too boring to talk about. Let's just say that Laurie spent a lot of money for a big hole in the ground so all of us can take an honest shit.

My younger sister Katy in Denver has serious health issues. My older sister Carolyn has gone to Denver to help her deal with the situation.

I have a rash on my back and it itches. No, you don't want to hear that either. But this gives you a sample of what we don't share with the world at large. This is because of our innate good taste.

I just wrote and deleted three different sentences because they had too much bite. What happens when you bite is that someone always bites back with equal ferocity. So we try to find a kinder way to say it and often we end up not saying it at all, at least not this week.

I've been reading a biography of Walt Disney by Bob Thomas. Disney was a master story teller. I'm learning a lot from this book. Disney kept it clear and straight with an utter lack of confusion in his tales. You always knew where the story was going. You got lost, you got scared, then you got found because somebody cared.  See, that last sentence rhymes. Scared rhymes with cared. Rhymes resonate and reinforce the plot.

Laurie and I often take a walk in Shoreline Park in the late afternoon. It's 45 minutes up and back, walking a nicely graded path along the edge of the cliff. We love the sound of the waves and the sight of the birds. Dog walkers abound. One man has three nicely groomed collies. He is paired up with a woman who walks two small white poodles. The dogs and the owners are the royalty of the park. They seem very dignified.

We can see the weather as we walk, the vista is broad going south across miles of ocean to the Channel Islands. We can see the fog come in on the west wind and see the islands disappear. The west wind is the good weather wind, bringing rain, and we have had a lot of good rain this year. The east wind comes off the hot land in the interior. It's the wrong wind, gusty and harsh, sparking fires in fire season and there is no end to fire season these days.

We've encountered Lita Singer  on our walks. You can find her on Amazon because she writes books. One is titled Cancel the Pity Party. Lita Singer is a foul-mouthed immigrant from Brooklyn, a good seventy-five years old with a combative attitude. I asked her if she was related to Isaac Singer, the famed Yiddish author. She declined to answer that question. Like who's Isaac, and maybe he should be related to me. That's Brooklyn for you.

Last Thought. Consider the Queen of England, now being visited by our President. Queen Elizabeth II is 93 years old. She has been the Queen of England since 1952, or almost my entire life. It's not that I love her or that I admire the British monarchy, it's just that she has always been there and I am completely used to her being there. Such stability is uncommon and to be treasured.

That's all for now,

Fred



--
Fred Owens
cell: 360-739-0214

My gardening blog is  Fred Owens
My writing blog is Frog Hospital


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