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That brings the count to four, the fat old Gray Kitty, who can still cut the mustard now and again, the Black Cat, who's a merciless welter weight speed freak, and these new guys.
Take a look at the damage the Old New Cats did to this rattlesnake. That would be the above-referenced Black Cat and his now deceased brother, the Siamese-Looking Cat.
Overheard the House Blond's tiny little voice, whispering Leo's story to the New Black & White Cat. She was moved, in part, by Leo's remarkable resemblance to the New Black & White Cat. Wiping her eyes, she tearfully assured him that he'd be okay and not to worry. A Daddy's Kodak moment, indelibly inscribed on my heart.
Got several emails wondering about a Memorial Day post. To which I respond, please check back on Memorial Day, which is May 30th.
No, no, no, THIS weekend is a CONgressionally mandated three day weekend set aside to ensure that the roads will be clogged up like a two inch sewer line in a hundred year old house. For days. Or at least for hours.
Doubt any So Cal denizens are headed for the beach on what has turned out to be a breathtakingly gorgeous winter week end. Rest assured, however, that Glamis, the Colorado River, and Lake Havasu are packed with bronze beauties and various and assorted others who are partying heartily. DISCLAIMER: partying link not appropriate for kids or for parents whose kids are at The River this weekend.
Wait. No bronze beauties. Yet. Being Day One of Summer 2008, today will be Bleach Beach and by Monday? Lobster City. Pretty sure that El Jeronimo de Crow was the first to observe that phenom.
Actually, it was the other way around. We had a week of absolutely gorgeous, albeit scorching days, with views to the horizon, culminating with triple digits on Monday. Hey, TWC is a desert rat, I'll take hot, clear, and windy. You can have my share of dingy gray marine-layer-infested dewy mornings followed by hazy afternoon sunshine.
Right after I snapped this, came the swollen rain drops, about the size of small mice.
Then a huge winter storm blew through here like a freight train. Knocked a couple of freight cars off the tracks and upended a Peterbilt.
Wind, sleet, hail, thunder, and lightning. My lunatic children ran through it, all the while shrieking to the gods,
until they were soaked to the bone. They're rain deprived on account of being
in the rain shadow of Saddleback.
Figured David Enchilada had it in the bag so I was stunned when all those teeny-bopper votes didn't get through because, well, it was past their bedtimes. No matter, he's got a contract anyway. Apparently, the forty-something hotties had David Cook on speed dial and the the stone is cast. Well, somebody did, anyway. Enjoy.
My kids made parole. As of the end of next week, School's Out! Not exactly for summer, because we're year round. The House Blond starts fifth grade right after Independence Day and Jake starts Junior High on or about his twelfth birthday.
Just like a little kid myself, I been toe tappin' around the Casa, humming no more pen-sills, no more booooks-ah.....
That's from the GOP's token psuedo-drag queen Addams Family makeup queen and bad boy shock rocker Alice Cooper's wildly popular rock standard that's been adopted by succeeding generations of adolescents yearning to be free of the chalkboard yoke.
It occurs to me that by modern standards, this guy is a fargin' terrorist. I mean, look at these lyrics:
School's out for summer School's out forever School's been blown to pieces
Emphasis mine. But can we be too careful? What would happen to a seventh grader running through the halls on the last day of school, not singing, but gleefully shouting....
School's been blown to pieces
Not sure, but if you are horseplaying on a school bus, tossing around a kitchen timer in a game of hot potato, and somebody jokes that it's a bomb, you will be expelled. Or, if you make a crude drawing of something that looks like a gun, you will be expelled. Or if you accidentally bring a butter knife to school, you will be expelled.
Head implosion? Boy Howdy, you shoulda seen it when the House Blond brought a plastic replica of a rifle to school. Teacher's request. A prop for the kid playing Daniel Boone in the school play about the westward movement of America. Daniel Boone DID carry a rifle, didn't he?
Later, in the office retrieving the offending item: Good grief, Ma'am, it's not like someone just handed you a live grenade with the pin pulled. Handling it gingerly doesn't make it less likely that a toy rifle is going to explode and take the admin office out with it.
Mrs TWC was right about sending the kid to school with a toy gun when she observed that this isn't going to go well.
Alice Cooper was inspired to write his terrorist screed by.....
.....the last three minutes of the last day of school when
you're sitting there and it's like a slow fuse burning. If we
can catch that three minutes in a song, it's going to be so big.
Fate intervened leaving Mrs TWC and myself to our own devices on a Saturday night that happened to be Anniversary Eve. Karla lined us up to do jazz and drinks, but Friday in LA about did us in. We opted for a chick-movie, a 2003 Estancia Meritage, and (later) a little relaxing conversation out on the deck accompanied by a thousand city lights and a warm breezy evening...... It was sort of like a flashback to life before kids.
We're planning a big too-do come May 18, 2010, which is twenty-five years and a Tuesday. Tuesday Afternoon. Figure on Saturday the 15th.
The 2003 Estancia is lovely although it may not be quite as good as the 2004 that TWC reviewed here.
Saw Chicago in concert in Memphis longer ago than I care to remember. Hadn't paid much attention and it was just an accidental whim, somebody had an extra ticket. Yeah, sure, I'll go. No opening act, just two and a half hours of great stuff. Everybody's been to the best concert ever....but this was the best concert ever.
When That Chick Bent Over I Forgot My Name This section is rated 'R' and requires a password to click through. To obtain a password send an email to: password at winecommonsewer dot com
Tip of the glass to Rich D 
