That’s me in the spotlight…

Decided I needed to stop tonight, for a drink

Something different, right?

Sat in the corner, losing my religion.

A young couple shows up, with a friend.

My, my, hey hey!

What a handsome dude.

Hello!

What?

He knows me?

Yikes, it’s Travis !  My neighbor, all grown up.  22 years old.

He moved out last year.

Too much drama, he says.

Got a girlfriend?

Nah. I just work, hang out with friends, and do my thing.

Being an obnoxious old goat, I had to butt into his conversation.

After a few drinks, my food arrived.

What ? What’s this?

I ordered food?

Oh damn it.  Now I have to go home and feed Jim and the kids, aka as the cats.

What a lovely evening.

Ok, maybe for me.

Home at last.

Cats are pissed.

Jim is tired.

I am Holly go Lightly.

Until tomorrow,  enjoy every minute, even if you, like me, are a PIA.

xoxoxoxoxoxo

 

Wolf

Smoking hot at 60 plus….. ha!

You go along…

You are a fairly reasonable person.

You age.

At 20, you think you will live forever.

At 30, you know you are the cat’s meow.

At 40, you are at the top of your game.

At 50, you start to wonder what the hell happened to your youth.

At 60, you realize that the world is divided into the haves and have nots.

The haves have retired.

You, along with the have nots, will continue to pursue the fountain of youth.

Correction: The fountain of survival.

What happened to your dreams?

Actually, nothing.

They are still there, but just a tad bit altered.

Working every day takes more out of you than it did back in the good old days.

So you weigh the pros and cons:

Work?

Or not to work?

Retire?

Or work part time?

Your family is shrinking.

You are the sole provider.

You also are the wildest 60 + person you know.

You work to remain useful…. and productive… and connecting with others.

Hey hey Chicken Butt:

When are you going to give it up?

When are you going to call it quits?

When are you gonna retire?

As I ponder those questions, I say to myself:

Girrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrl:  You are one obnoxious, ridiculous old bag.

You find too much pleasure and happiness with your work, and your co workers.

And more importantly, who’s gonna buy the booze when you no longer work?

So you see, my friends, candy is dandy.

And liquor is quicker.

But sometimes my job drives me to drink.

And let’s me indulge.

The perfect storm.

See you tomorrow.

Wolf

 

Don’t give up until you have no more to give

Yes!

Another day.

Cool.

It’s Autumn.

Let it begin.

Then stuff happened.

Bad to worse to impossible.

And beyond.

It was one of those rare September days, with blue skies and golden fields, that spoke of sunlight and happiness on the surface.

While underneath, the earth turned.

The problems escalated.

Reality turned into madness.

The last breath of sanity left my defeated body.

A raving lunatic roaming through the abyss.

Hoping for sanctuary at home, at the end of the work day.

Not gonna happen.

Hey, is there a full moon?

Or is my life just falling apart at the seams?

Settle down, my alter ego gently whispers in my ear.

Relax, meditate, self medicate, find an escape, do what is necessary to kill the pain.

Reality kicks in.

This is life.

It happens.

Experience it.

Go with the flow.

This too will pass.

One day you will reflect on these days, and forget the pain.

You will remember that you still had the ability to walk, to talk, to think, to work, to play, to eat and to love.

After all, you  and I are only here for awhile.

Our strength lies in living through these days.

Tomorrow :  We can choose to give it another shot, or to shut down, retreat and admit defeat.

Eventually, that final day will come.

But for now, I feel the blood flowing and the wind blowing and the rain clouds forming and a feeling that tells me that tomorrow will be a better day.

No guarantees, no promises, only a sense of purpose and resolve.

And that, my friends, is the human spirit.

Live while you can.

Until that final hour.

Wolf

Honesty is all we ask

Monday mornings  can be likened to a kick in the ass.

A shock to the system.

A rude awakening.

A reminder that life is not necessarily a bowl of cherries.

A return to a form of discipline and purpose.

A wake up call at 5am.

And as the minutes and hours move forward, we are carried along, striving to keep up, to multi task, to rise to the occasion, to handle the stress in a dignified way, with a final resolution, or at least a compromise.

When the working day ends, we go our separate ways.

Some to a happy home, filled with family and friends, others to a solitary existence.

So many choices, so many differences.

We end each day as we leave the work place.

No one really knows what we experience.

Not those who work with us.

Big houses.

Small apartments.

Homeless.

Married with children.

Single and lonely

Single and swinging.

Devoted to our passions:  family, country, pets, religion, work, wealth, health, nature, beauty, and yes, politics.

So tonight, all of us, or most of us, will be watching the presidential debates.

They say it will be more popular than the super bowl.

Wonder why.

It’s one of the other.

It’s either the Donald or Hill.

Is it the lesser of two evils?

Does it have anything to do with our beliefs?

With policies?

With our security?

With our ability to lead and to support our allies?

What about the escalating violence of our country?

Who is to blame?

The Police?

The victims?

Who really are the victims?

Can we take care of those live in poverty and hunger, in our own country?

What about our seniors, who cannot afford to eat, if they buy their medications?

And the veterans who put their lives on the line for us, and who are struggling to find their way back to health?

I don’t know about you, but I would not want to be president.

So, tonight, Donald and Hill, just be who you are, and knock off the insults.

We need to solve our problems, and to find a way to preserve our liberty.

I am hoping to finally experience some honesty in this campaign.

That is how I will make my final decision.

 

Wolf

I’ll never be your beast of burden……..

Grooving… on a Saturday night.

Well, ok, on a Saturday afternoon.

Not sure if any of you have senior citizen issues, but I was at the pharmacy checking out all the possible solutions to growing old.

This included meds for  cats who are old.

So, $101 later, I hope this stuff I picked up,  works.

If not, take the 2 cats, Jim and me out back.

The 4 of us will light up, smoke a few joints and settle into the dust.

Let’s face it.

Some of us struggle just to survive.

Well, not me, of course.

Not yet.

I am still fabulous.

I have yet to find a wrinkle in my face.

(Hey, I am blind as a bat)

I have yet to experience pain in my joints.

(That may be because I am a pain in the ass)

And I am a role model for all women over the hill.

(Bar flies live longer, as they are well preserved)

So on this Saturday, Sept 24, I carried up 20 bags up stairs, ate a half dozen perogies, a hamburber, well done, with fried onions, and a bottle of Apothetic Dark to celebrate the dawning of the age of Aquarius.

By the way, I have no idea what the hell the age of Aquarius is.

So, have a lovely Saturday night, all my friends.

I am finishing the wine, attending to the senior needs of one Puff Cat, Oh Wow Cat and the old goat, James.

I just changed into my jammies and am ready to head out to the deck, to contemplate the state of the union.

Hey, ain’t life grand?

xoxoxoxooxoxxoxoxo

 

Wolf

 

STELLA!!!

Friday night.

So what are you doing?

Celebrating?

Or are you too pooped to pop?

I ran into an outrageous woman on the way home.

Oh my.

Talk about self centered and off kilter.

I thought I had met Blanche from the Streetcar.

You know the one:  The Streetcar named Desire.

Oblivious to reality.

How in the world do these people survive?

Oh yeah.  I almost forgot:  They rely on the kindness of strangers.

They can’t carry on a conversation about much of anything, unless, of course, it somehow involves themselves.

So damn boring.

And quite amusing.

This older guy who buddied up to the pseudo Blanche, seemed completely enraptured by the attention.

Of course he would.  He is at least 30 years her senior.

Poor thing.

He probably thinks she is in love with him.

Hello Stanley. You crazy lunatic.

I guess you exist, even today, in Pennsylvania.

And so do I, the Chicken Butt, observing the night scene, while I waited for an order of cheesy garlic bread.

And so, on this Friday night, on Sept 23, the movie never ends.

It goes on and on and on and on.

Until tomorrow,

Wolf

 

 

 

A lighter shade of pale

A day in the life of a chicken butt:

5am:  Oh wow. oh wow. oh wow.  (heard as I walked into the kitchen to turn on the coffee pot.)

It was the Oh Wow cat, outside, after a night of fighting or whatever that goof does.

I let him in, and told him I really didn’t feel like getting up quite yet.

6am:  The Oh Wow cat was on his third meal of the day.

Me?  I was on my second cup of coffee, wishing I could pour a little Irish blessing in my cup.

8am:  At work.

Comments:  “Hey!  I thought you had the chicken pox.”.

Oh cripes, I forget, I posted that ridiculous thing last night about having the pox.

830am: Pasted red hearts over my face.

9am:  Walked through the warehouse.

The usual reaction:

“Hi!”

“What the hell is on your face?”

Response:  “Oh, I have a contagious disease.  Chicken Pox.  Wouldn’t you think my boss would tell me to get the hell home?  But no, somehow, nobody really believes me.”

10am:  “Got any candy?”

“Uhm. Geez, Somebody ate it.”

Noon: Wheels on meals.  Had to head home to feed the cats and Jim.

Oh Wow cat:  no where to be found. Probably outside, bloated from the 3 breakfast meals.

Puff:  Hiding.  Somehow she knew I had meds for her, from her friends Harry and MCat.

Jim:  Sick. Ok.  Maybe a cup of tomato soup.

Me?  Geez, I don’t know.  I guess I should eat.  Grabbed 2 pb and j sandwiches.

Back at work:

2pm:  Oh yeah, a web meeting.

Huh?  Did anyone else get what that was all about?

Our boss:  Can’t talk?

Huh?  What did we do to make that happen?

3pm:  Looked in the mirror. Pox gone.

Thanks Pat, for bringing me the cure:   A weiner saved the day.

Many issues for the rest of the day, all relatively resolved.

Even those for the pope.

5pm:  Bye bye Ms American Pie.

Time to put on my nurse’s cap and trip the light fandango.

Until tomorrow,

xoxoxooxoxoxox

Wolf

 

 

Irritating? Your coworker? Really?

Working folks:

Hey, there is always one …. or more who irritate the @5%@#%@%@% out of you.

Right?

So what do you do about the situation?

10 point plan of the Chicken Butt:

1.  If it doesn’t affect you or your performance, let it go.   It ain’t worth stressing over.

2.  If it borders on criminal or unethical, report it, and let it go.  You can’t control everything.

3.  If it involves one person who continually annoys you, find a way to address it, and confront the situation. If you don’t, live with it, you coward.

4.  If you find the environment overwhelmingly unfair or unacceptable, choose whether to put up with it or to quit.  It is your decision.

5.  When you have reached your limit, take a time out, or a few days off.  The grass is not always greener.

6.  Look at your behavior.  Are you a contributing factor?   If so, correct it.

7.  Get focused and involved.  The more you are committed to your job, the less others will bug the Q#W#@%#5 out of you.

8.  Don’t expect the work place to be fair in all respects.  Nothing is perfect.

9.  Recommend changes to processes.  Don’t let your emotions rule.

10.  Realize that everyone is different, yet we all want mostly the same thing :  To be valued, to be respected and to contribute.

Success?  It is doing what is right, and doing it right, the first time.

But mostly it is about learning to work with others.

Even those goofs who drive you to drink.

Personally, I like those people.

They provide me with an excuse….

 

Cheers!

 

Wolf

 

Never pet a wet cat.

Giving a cat a bath?

Are you kidding?

I did it.

Tonight.

Clawed, bleeding and wet, I emerged.

She?

Well, she is now wrapped up in an afghan, with a snoot face, hating me.

I didn’t have cat shampoo.

I used baking soda.

Heck, I figured if baking soda cleans everything else, why not a cat?

At one point, she had a claw dug into my arm, like she was ready to pull the skin right off.

But she didn’t.

And I let her run around, a little, to let off some steam, before we were through.

She seemed to have no interest in grooming herself, this past week.

And she wouldn’t eat.

So I figured, like most girls, she needed a little attention.

What girl doesn’t like a night at the spa?

I poured her a night cap: Some kitty milk.

Her brother came over to investigate and she hissed at him.

I like that!

Feisty.

Hoping for the best, that she will pull through.

Another vigil tonight.

 

Wolf

Purpose, cause and effect

I am striving to find a meaning to the lives of those who live to destroy.

Talking to young couples:  Hey, we are getting married in a few months. We want to work for awhile, buy a house and have a family.

I wonder if these terrorists have plans like that:  Yeah, I am 21 years old and spend every night making bombs to blow up my neighborhood.

And then there are those who devote their lives to a cause.

For the protection of our children, for the preservation of our environment, for the destruction of human life.

Have we created this mess?

Is it because of the have and the have nots?

Is it religion?

Is it something we have done?

Or is it just the difference in our cultures, our thinking and our beliefs that divide us and fill us with hatred?

If you are like me, living in the USA is a wonderful thing, but no piece of cake.

We work for what we have.

We sacrifice for our children.

We help our neighbors and friends.

We don’t always have everything we would like, but we share whatever it is we have.

I believe we all want to preserve our way of life, and as we send our daughters and sons to the battle field, we weep, with pride.

I don’t get it.

Bombs.

Hatred.

Random shootings.

Killing the innocent.

For what?

Tonight, I think I may have hit on one of the reasons:

It is because we are the US.

And we have the best country in our world.

Ok. Not perfect, but what a target if you happen to be a hateful, dissatisfied lonely soul, searching for a reason, that never really makes any sense.

So tonight, we know that there will be more attempts to disrupt our lives, just like what happened this weekend in NY and NJ.

However, an amazing turn of events: Responsible person caught, within 24 hours of this attempt to frighten this country.

It didn’t work.

We love our lives and our country too dearly.

And we will not give up.

 

Wolf