Fleetingly Carol

This pandemic can go away as far as I'm concerned. I mean, I haven't been to my favorite restaurants in months. Take out. Bah! No ambience with take out. Where are the cozy seats, the smiling wait staff, the lack of clean-up after the meal? I don't think Old Man has been out of the house since March. It's a good thing we have Sweet Dog. After Girlie-Girl went to the Sweet By and By, Grown Son grew concerned that Old Man would not have a companion with whom to roam our hill. So, he made sure that by Christmas, Sweet Dog joined the family. And such a sweet dog she is.  Old Man decided to train Sweet Dog. She said, "Say what?" Photo by Lum3n from Pexels Of course, Old Man put his foot down. Sweet Girl is sweet, but she can be a shade on the lazy side. They get out in the yard and run and play, um, that is Sweet Girl gets out and runs and plays. Old Man and Sweet Girl are a great combination, because they both can be a shade on the lazy side. Old Man gets on th

Please, make them fleet! I am so tired of breathing my own carbon dioxide. My goodness, the plants inside offices and shops are wilting, confused by the lack of carbon dioxide. Last week at my doctor's office, I heard one whisper to the other, "What's with people? They're hogging all the air with those masks. It's like mass hysteria, they all started wearing them at once. If they don't take those *&#$ things off, I'm going to suffocate! I need some CO!" The philodendron replied, "I'm feeling pretty bad, too. I don't know what's going on. I thought they needed the O2 we make. I think there's a trade deficit going on here and we're on the wrong end of the stick!" The English ivy was not to be outdone. "What if we were to just wilt away. Then they would have no oxygen! That would fix them." "And we would be dead. Don't be silly. This is a serious matter. We have to figure out something." I

I expressed, dear Reader, admiration of those who have faced this pandemic heroically. Now, I wish to say how much I admire anyone who will speak the truth in the midst of rioters, looters, and other nefarious people condemning them for not supporting their cause. Black lives matter, blue lives matter, ALL lives matter. Not one of us is expendable, not the protester, not the cop, not the left-leaning politician, nor the right. For one group of people to say the opposite of this truth are liars. They are not to be believed. I understand there is injustice in the world. I understand there is oppression in the world. What I don’t understand is why people in the USA refuse to talk about this and would rather riot and loot in place of dialogue. I don’t understand. Did we try to talk before and it fail? When? Did we try to come to terms with this before? Yes, and progress is being made. My heart is broken over the division in the US and the world. We must come to together for dialogue if the

I have never experienced a pandemic, have you? No, I thought not. It is decidedly not a pretty or fun or glorious or uplifting or exciting or wonderful thing at all. Dear Reader, we have all been in some stage of "Shelter at Home" order.  Those of you who continue to get up everyday to go to work, those of you who get up every day to work at home, those of you who stay home to be sure your children continue their education, those of you who stay home and try new things that can be done from home, those of you who are caring for a COVID-19 patient at home: you are all my heroes. It takes courage to get out of bed each day to face the challenges that are out there right now. Keep it up and stay safe, Dear Reader.

I don't want to complain about the weather.  Each day brings its own weather pattern and each weather pattern is for the good of the earth, even the hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes. No matter how uncomfortable, I try not to complain. Sometimes, like right now, it is impossible. It is the middle of August. I expected heat. In fact hot August is here. I drink lots of water. I make certain the animals have access to fresh water and are in a cool place. Dear Reader, I reside in the South of the good ol' U. S. of  A. I expect heat in the middle of August. What I don't expect is the air conditioner to quit spreading its cooling atmosphere in my home. Ugh! Thankfully, I have a job that is located in an air-conditioned building. I have been working late into the night lately.  Oh, it’s not that I want to escape the heat and be a solid support for Old Man as he figures out what to do about the situation, its that I have THAT MUCH WORK! It never ends - the reports, the or

So many books . . . so little time. This saying is printed over and under a stack of books, screen printed on a sweatshirt my friend wears from time to time. I used to think the saying was cutesy, funny. Ah, dear Reader, no more. I have a stack of books on my nightstand and the table beside my easy chair. I thought I would get smart and check some from the library, only to have them become overdue because I wouldn't return them. Then, ebooks came along. I could carry my books with me wherever I went. I have thousands of them now. Another friend refurbished her house recently. She exposed the studs and put little shelves between them, shelves just deep enough for the standard paperback novel. She has these shelves throughout her house, including the bathroom. I am jealous. Old Man says it's perfect insulation. Old Man complains about my books.  He says if I bring one more book into the house, it will fall down. Well, of course, Old Man doesn't think the house will fa