I gather from your entry that the end of this last week has been somewhat bittersweet. I can see that in your case, where the bulk of the family is pretty far flung, its perhaps closer to the latter. Glad to hear that it all went off swimmingly. Good also to hear that your granddaughter made it through the week with no significant psychological scars. BTW, I'm with you on the popcorn in the movies thing. Movie going time was always in the evening and being filled from supper always made it seem overindulgent and irrational to start eating again before breakfast.
I think the whole thing is a prime example of how a product can be indelibly associated with an activity - usually for marketing purposes. Things really don't go any better with "Coke" at all. It's like candy-floss at the fair/circus, peanuts or hot-dogs at the ball game, couch-potato munchies, comfort foods or hot chocolate after any outdoor winter activity ( although that one at least gives you the chance to work up an appetite.) Fun foods are certainly an inextricable part of the culture - and the obesity crisis too.
I've been taking in some non-routine family activities as well these last few days. They haven't given me quite as much food for thought and reflection as yours have but they've been a new experience pour mois. We're in the midst of a two-week babysitting stint of our other " grand-dog" . This time is a bit different, though. I find myself somewhere I've never been before.
Unlike our daughters aging and deteriorating canine that I spoke of earlier, " Woody" is a four-year old Golden Retriever. He's a quintessential example of the breed, too. Just like the ones on the pet food bag labels etc. A handsome dog to be sure. If he was a human he'd be a George Clooney or ( in an earlier generation ) a Clark Gable. He's got the disposition to match ; strong, silent and even-tempered to the max. His " retrieving" skills are positively uncanny, too. 
Recent events with my better half's family have seen her away for six or seven days - leaving me and " The Woodman" on our own. We've done dog-sitting before but this is the first time that I've been on my own with one of those man's best friend creatures. I am, have always been and always will be a cat person. I don't dislike dogs but I just can't get all chummy or entranced with them like my wife and our offspring can. This was like asking a sworn Democrat to babysit Mitt Romney for a few days. " Gulp "
Well, it's not been too bad, actually. I've been finishing some new stairs for our back deck and he's had no problem fitting right in with that activity( literally... ) as you can see. I still prefer that non-intrusive nonchalance that cats have, but have gotten somewhat used to an 80 pound canine Cary Grant following me about and lying beside me whenever I am seated. I just can't get used to the pooh-bag thing though. Four of my five senses go fully berserk whenever I have to do the stoop and scoop routine. This is when I most appreciate that supremely self-sufficient feline who just went out into the forest and took care of business unobtrusively.
For the sake of continuity ( and because I haven't had time to come up with one for this entry ) what say we just go back to the riddles, with renewed vigour, next time around. Time to let the dust settle from recent frivolities a bit, eh.
Don.
All images sourced from Google images:
fig. 1 - lowdensitylifestyle.com
fig. 2 - coolpets4u.blogspot.com
fig. 3 - cineawesome.com
fig. 4 - magazine-covers.lucywho.com
fig. 5 - politicalscrapbook.net
No comments:
Post a Comment