Today, I waited three hours to see a doctor. And once I saw that doctor… it was for about a total of 5 minutes. Seven, tops.

And when I finally got to the pharmacy,  the clerk dangled the bag containing my Rx in front of me.  She proceeded to ask: “Now do you really want these eye drops? The cost is $ 144.95 and it isn’t covered on your insurance.”

“Well….. no lady. I just spent the last four hours of my life waiting for what’s in that bag. I think I’ll pass.”  Yeah.  Right.  Of course I am going to pay the 144.95.  I would give you my first born for what’s in that bag.  What the heck else would I do at that point? What could I do?  Suffer indefinitely without them?

Holy Shhhmackerels. A lot to complain about? Not really. In some countries, people walk for a couple of days to get to a clinic. Once there, they have to camp until the doctor GETS to the clinic. At which point, they can only hope there will be medicine available to help them, or their sick children.

I am a lucky girl.

I think sometimes we lose sight of how good we have it here in the United States of America. Sure, things could use some improvement here and there. That is for sure. But comparatively, we have it pretty darn good in this neck of the woods.

Switching gears… I discovered some really fantastic information while lingering in the waiting room. (Yes, another lucky thing. For those three hours, I was able to check email, search the internet, play World of Goo, and Cut the Rope. I read a bit of the book “A Team of Rivals.”  And on and on. Another perk of our freedoms, and conditions here.)
Okay.

Here are certain things I ferreted out.

Which film star has a daughter called Sage Moonblood?

Sylvester Stallone (Really Sly? That’s the best you could do for that kid?  I think he took a few too many punches in Rocky XXIV)

What is the biggest Dog Holiday in the World?

“Birdsil Day” on November 8th of every year. (Why? The guy who invented the fire hydrant (1869) was Birdsil Holly. He was born on November 8th, in 1820. Max, Frances, and Ollie throw a big party annually.)

Hari-Kari is vulgar name for Seppuku what does it literally mean?

Belly Splitting (I am much calmer now.. but while I was flipping my lid in the waiting room… I considered Hari-Kari. Twice.)

And speaking of such things….. In ancient China people committed suicide by eating what?

Salt, eating 1 pound will kill you.  (I guess that is where the saying comes from…”Go Pound Salt.”)

Where are a cricket’s ears located?

In their front legs. (Now isn’t that something?   Literally…. “Talk to the Hand”….  Can you hear me now?  Can you hear me now?)

What real person has been portrayed the most films?

Napoleon Bonaparte (Okay… I am trying not to… BUT…. I can’t help it.

They are all Short Films.)

Which Shiny Insect Feeds On Such Materials As Wallpaper Paste And Bookbindings?

The Silverfish (This has nothing to do with anything… other than Silverfish give me the creeps.  Bookbindings.  Yuck.  Another argument for the iPad)

Which two initials are used to describe Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?

ME (Ha. I don’t know what ME stands for.. but CFS seems more fitting… or Me Tired.)

Who wrote ‘The History of Mr. Polly’?

H. G. Wells (I will have to get this on my iPad. I had never heard of this title before today. Wells also wrote “The Time Machine” and “The Invisible Man.”)

So…. on that note…..  I shall end this now.   For it is getting late ….  Time for me to be Invisible.

Black Friday Sale at KronyTown!

Everything at Project 368….. NOW… Just 364.50 or less!

One year… same as cash! Guaranteed.

Everything on SALE!

Musings… 50% off

Bright Ideas… All half price (Supplies Limited)

Meanderings… Buy one get one free.

Corny Sayings and Jokes… all marked down!

Deliberations and Proposals… FREE SHIPPING!

Yes. Everything MUST GO!

Door Busters Specials… Come Early… SAVE BIG! Prices good all day.

Happy Shopping You Crazy-Black-Friday-Nuts. May the Shopping Gods be with you…..

You’ll need ’em.

“If you want to feel rich, just count the things you have that money can’t buy”
-Proverb

On this day of all days… it seems we take the time to reflect on our good fortune, our blessings, our gifts and good favors in life. We give thanks.

I am grateful for sweet amazing graciousness… from the little to the large.   I am thankful for the many wonders in my life. My soulmate, family, friends, and four-legged pals. My health and abilities. A free country. Hot water. Cameras. Grits.  For those little dots that go in-between my sentences.  Museums. Sock Monkeys. Computers. A good pair of shoes. Deodorant. Mayonnaise. Movies. Nature. Clean air. Air in my tires. Sleep. Mashed potatoes… what the heck… all pasty white foods. Fast internet connections (still praying for one in Camden, Ohio). Waterfalls. Eyeglasses.  This list goes into the kazillions. From minuscule Caterpillars to mammoth Constellations.

I think I have finally come to understand…. to realize….. that my attitude toward the life I’m living and all the people in it… has an impact. Yes, I am pretty certain this is true. May attitude can have a tangible, measurable and profound effect on what happens to me during each day.

If I act in a negative way… I can probably expect negative results. On the other hand…..

I am finding that when I give what I am seeking….. it returns to me at the right time and place. It goes much the same way in consideration of futile resistance. It seems when I finally quit knocking my head against a wall… the headache goes away. At exactly the right time.  Balance.  Gratitude.

It is important for me to give thanks every day. Through this gratitude, much can be accomplished, transcended, and shared.

May it be… that we all use the gifts which we have received… and share them with others. That we pass on the love that has been given to us… and be content with ourselves as we are.

May it be.. that we all dance and sing… and give thanks with our trueness of heart.

I forgot about frogs. I like frogs. Thankful for them. Not the deep-fried-leg-kind… but the kind that hop around the pond, and orchestrate sweet songs at night… and swim like crazy all day long… those frogs.

Yep….

…

……

…. and for each one of you.  I am have much gratitude in my heart.  Happy Thanksgiving.

Today was our big travel day. Back to Ohio.  The Buckeye State.  The home of the Wright Brothers and the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame.  Yes, back to the north for Thanksgiving… and Christmas…. Ho. Ho. Ho.

An entire day in the car with two humans, three dogs, and one cat… has the potential of being quite interesting.  Today, did not disappoint.

We all managed to be good dogs.  All of us.

Here is the iPhone Chronicle.

It started out in a very delightful way…. breakfast at Cracker Barrel.  Any day that starts with 2 eggs over easy, biscuits, grits, and ham… is a red-letter beginning.

But wait.   There’s more.  Big events at our first stop.  While walking through the General Store …. What to mine eyes appear?  A SOCK MONKEY TREE…..

Hold the phone, will ya’?  I dropped my root beer barrels right there in the restaurant!

But wait again.  It doesn’t stop there.  That tree was topped with none other than a Sock Monkey Hat.  One, like my very own.  Oh what a day, what a day.

Then…. While dining….. Shanice came to our table, and presented me with a drinking straw.   I am not sure why she chose me.  I must have looked like I needed a straw.  So,  I was extremely grateful.  She was very kind.  Nice to meet you Shanice.

And then, then, then…..  we did lots of this….     this….     this.

Ate lots of these….

And drank lots of that…

Thirteen hours later… it sort of looked like earlier in the day… but much, much, later.  And blearier.

Five states later.   Orville and Wilbur are wondering why we didn’t fly.

Regardless.  We are home.  Well…. we were home… and now we are home again.  But here we are.

And as Buckaroo Banzai says…  “No matter where you go…. there you are.”

Yes.  Be it ever so humble… There’s No Place Like Home.

Picnics are one of life’s simple joys.

Even the sound of the word is melodious. Picnic.

Okay… maybe not melodious. It is “catchy” though…

And to hear the phrase, “We are going on a picnic,” conjures up all sorts of warm and wonderful images.

Just down the street about a half a block, is The Battery. It overlooks the Charleston Bay, and Fort Sumter, among other things.

People picnic there all the time. I love to walk through the park and watch them picnic. They are happy… eating their cold fried chicken, macaroni salad, and potato chips. Or bologna sandwiches, coleslaw and pretzel sticks. Chocolate chip cookies, or apple pie. Some bring a basket, others bring a canvas bag.

They spread out their wool blankets, and set the stage before them. There is nothing fast about it… all is slow, and savored. Methodical. The picnic is both meticulous and messy.

Smiles and laughter…passing plates… sharing forkfuls of food… even though they all have the same exact thing.  A game of frisbee or touch football.  Swing-around-airplane rides.

Heartwarming. Fun. True. Loving.

For a moment, I thought I would suggest that everyone be required to take one picnic per month… and the world might be a better place. Then… I thought better of it. No.  I would not suggest such a thing. Making it a requirement would wring the magic right out of it.  And the enchantment of the picnic would be rendered ….. useless.

Oh.  I believe in magic.

There are those who say it doesn’t exist.  But I am convinced that it does. And when asked where I think magic comes from…. I say…

Magic comes from the heart.

Just take a good look at a picnic.

Legends of the Fall…

Act ONE.

Joe Leaf: Well, it is that time of year. We are supposed to just quit. Wither up, and fall off this tree.
Ted Leaf: Yeah. I hear ya’ Joe, ol’ pal. Dang… that has to be like a…. 30 foot drop. I’m not looking forward to it.

Joe: Neither am I. I’m feeling so good right now too… seems like a real let down that we have to drop off the branch. I love everyone here.
Ted: Me too. But, that’s how it goes. Well… I better get it over with… nice knowing you Joe… I’m falling now.

Joe: NO! Ted! WAIT! Let’s think about this…. maybe we should look it up on the computer… you know. We will get on the internet… and see if there is a better way…. Maybe we should all jump down together… and figure this out. Maybe that way… we will be able to come back up once we find the answer.
Ted: Let see if the others are in. We will pitch the “Safety In Numbers” argument.

Act TWO.

Branch Meeting:

Joe: All in favor?
Leaves on the Branch: Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye.
Joe: Opposed?
Leaves on the Branch: (silent)
Joe: Woooo Hooooooo!   Let’s do this thing.

Ted: All right everybody.  On the count of three…. ONE, TWO, THREE.

(Branch Snaps… and Jumps. )

INTERMISSION.

Act THREE.

Branch laying on the cement below.

Joe: Well… THAT hurt like a mother.
Ted: Yep. Gonna’ leave a mark. No pun intended. All right Joe. This was your idea…. how are we going to get to a computer? And IF we do find a computer… how are we going to get on to the Net?
Joe: Well… we’ll LOG on.

Act FOUR.

(Two weeks later)

Leaves still right there on the pavement… pretty shriveled. Pretty silent. A woman walks by with a camera….

Moral of the story 1: It is a good thing to be a a part of a group. BUT……sometimes, you should turn over a new leaf…. and branch out on your own.

Moral of the story 2: If you decide you are going to jump… make sure there really is a NET.

It is a well established fact that I am a Geek. I love Technology.

My Geekhood. It started a long time ago…. my fascination with gadgetry. And, when the “World Wide Web” came on the scene… I was one of the early ones that “created” websites. Just plain old hard code and html…. text on gray. Me and Al Gore.

Image my delight and giddiness when I saw my first animated .GIF.   I did the “Happy Feet” dance  in my office.

Yet, the formal definition of “geek” is not so favorable.

geek |gēk|
noun informal
1 an unfashionable or socially inept person.
• [ usu. with modifier ] a knowledgeable and obsessive enthusiast: a computer geek.
2 a carnival performer who performs wild or disgusting acts.

ORIGIN late 19th cent.: from the related English dialect geck ‘fool,’ of Germanic origin; related to Dutch gek ‘mad, silly.’

In recent years,the word GEEK has taken on a variation of slightly different bends. Succinctly… A person with a devotion to something in a way that places him or her outside the mainstream. This could be due to the intensity, depth, or subject of their interest. You know, Computer Geeks, Math Geeks, Movie Geeks, History Geeks, Comic Book Geeks… and so the story goes.

Techno Geek.

So on to the point of all of this. I upgraded to the iPhone 4s today. I didn’t need a new phone. My iPhone 4 was perfectly fine and good. Great even. I had decided… NO WAY… NO HOW… did I need this new Hyped-Up Chatty-Cathy Phone.

Then I walked into the Apple Store (on an errand for a Christmas Present).  I had no intention of buying anything for myself.   Well.  You gotta’ be kidding me. Shut the fuuuu….. phone up. The Apple Store is like Santa’s Little Workshop to me.

And now, in just a day, I have come to love my iPhone, I’ll tell you.  It is like a little buddy. We do all sorts of things together… but most importantly we talk. Serious discussions. Heart to sensor chip.

We had a great conversation tonight… and it went like this.

I started out asking…

PK: Can you tell me….What is a baker?

And she said…

IP: I’ll check my sources. This might help… Someone who bakes commercially.  Someone who bakes bread, cake, buns.

PK: Yum… Buns. Like Hamburger Buns? Do you know of any good places to get a hamburger?

IP: I found 16 burger restaurants…14 of them are fairly close to you. I’ve sorted them by rating.

1. Big Guy in the Sky Burger Shoppe on Calhoun. Distance 1.0 miles. Four star rating.
(etc., etc.,)

PK: Great. I’ll check it out. Hey can I ask you a bigger question? What is the meaning of life?

IP: Life: It is a principle or force that is considered to underlie the distinctive quality of animate beings. I guess that includes me.

PK: Yes. I ‘d say so. Hey Eiffee (I’ve nicknamed my phone Eifee). Do you think there is a God?

IP: I think differently.

PK: Ahhh… c’mon Eiff … tell me… is there a God?

IP: I found 10 churches …. 9 of those are fairly close to you.

1. St. Michael’s Episcopal Church 0.3 miles
(etc., etc.,)

PK: Something I have to figure out on my own, eh?  Thank you so much Eiffee.  

IP: You are certainly very welcome. I aim to please.

Hold on to your hamburger buns…. I am positively giddy right now. Giddy.  I think I just split my pocket protector.

Yes…. Clearly…. I am a Geek.

Oh, it is happening again.  I am having another case of the “I wonders.”

Yes. It seems the little clinking and clanking is going on in my head once more.  The “Speculation” Segment of my brain is moving about at full tilt.

For instance.

I have dyslexic tendencies. So I am theorizing …If someone is both cross-eyed and dyslexic, can they see okay?

And, on another note (no pun intended in the forthcoming) …. Do you think it is proper of me to use my AM radio during the afternoon?

A bird hit our back window the other day… and it knocked the poor think unconscious. If we see little birdies when we get knocked out…What do little birdies see when they get knocked in the head?

Right now, I am wondering  if the very first dog named “Spot” was a Dalmatian or not.

As a photographer, I know light is made up of photons. When you switch off a light, where in the heck do all the little photons go?

If I need to ship someone a bunch of Styrofoam, I wonder what I should pack it in.

Hey Preble County “Home of the Pork Festival” Folks… Why in the world do we wait until a pig is dead to “cure” it?

Speaking of pigs. I love Virginia Brand Ham. I just can’t understand why it is made in Missouri.

Since we are on the topic of the farm…. When cows laugh really hard, does milk come out their noses? Or perhaps…. they have udder leaks?

When we are waiting on the Cross Walk Signal… why do we press the button six or seven times? Do we think we are fooling it into thinking more people are there?

I’m not sure where you typically sit when you read this Project 368. However….Is reading in the bathroom considered Multi-Tasking?

YOU are impressive…. ALL you Multi-Taskers out there. (Just don’t forget to flush…. )

But back to wondering.

I don’t think we should ever stop wondering.
For through wonder, we begin to seek.
And by seeking, we uncover our own answers.
It is when we find those answers that we come to discover ourselves.

And once that happens, the possibilities become endless.

“Worry not that no one knows of you; seek to be worth knowing.” – Confucius

I met a racist today. Full blown, no-holds-barred, racist. What I thought was going to be a casual conversation at the Dog Park, turned into a surrealistic incident. I am still reeling a bit from the experience. I should have know something about him was nefarious. He was standing all by himself in fairly crowded area when I arrived.

Yet, when we converged at the Doggie Drink Fountain…. he struck up the exchange. I won’t go into the details… but it was clear that if you weren’t white… you were subpar. Maybe even subhuman. This mindset is very foreign to me. It troubles me greatly.

On another note.

Sunday night some folks in these parts spotted a “UFO” up in that sky of ours. It happened at a place called Goose Creek. I saw a little bit of video on the news tonight… the witnesses shot it with an iPhone. It was a large light… glowing and hovering around…. and then some smaller lights were flying to it and back away again. Not fast flying.  No.  It was more of a meandering pace of travel. Who can say what it was really. But it seemed very abnormal and unconventional for the southern night sky.  Any sky, for that matter.

In my mind… these two events are largely related.

I can’t explain either one.
Both as foreign to me… as……  well….

Little Green Men From Outer Space.

With that said… I wish the first experience I mentioned wasn’t true. I wish it was some kind of myth, or Urban Legend. A Fable. I wish no one could prove it to be factual. Unfortunately, it is alive and well in our world today.

I also wish the second encounter WAS true. Yes, that there was some colossal space craft hovering up there… full of non-white aliens. Green would be okay. And it would be Neat-o Guido if they had Super-Zapper-Long-Range-Racist-Rays-Guns. Yeah. That’s it…. and it would be Easy-Peasy-Lemon-Squeazey for them to cruise around looking for bigots. Yeah, yeah.   That’s the ticket.

Then sometime tonight, they could meander over to these parts. Perhaps they could locate Mr. Boxer-Pit-Bull Mix, and zap him a good one. Teleport him right up onto the ship and put him in the Lab Area… where they could study this foreign and archaic behavior. And once they got back up to The Planet Zebulon, they could put him on the market as some kind of an Earthling Slave, where he would live with others like him, and work hard labor without pay…..  and… and…

Whew!  …. Okay……  I’m back. Back to reality here in my little kitchen. Sometimes my vindictive-child-brain takes over, and I lose all perspective of my true moral values. I want no detriment to come to this man. I would never wish anyone harm.

On the contrary. I hope he will find peace with himself, and find the beautiful realization that we are all intrinsically the same beings. If we all could just understand that every other human life is just as comprehensive as ours. We are all filled with our own struggles, hopes, remorse, loves, dreams, disappointments, fears, joys, and on. We are all in this together. If we could just “get this”… I am almost certain we would be more gentle and compassionate with one another.

And as humans…. if perhaps the Aliens are REAL… and they DO come down here….

…. run like hell.

And what I just said is out the window. Every man & woman for themselves.

____    _____    ______

“We cannot despair of humanity, since we ourselves are human beings.”
– Albert Einstein

“Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.”
– Ryunosuke Satoro

Bloom and grow… forever…..

The Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “The Sound of Music” opened on Broadway, on today’s date in 1959.

While I have never seen the show on Broadway… or even a live performance… I loved the movie. Dang it. I’ve seen it about 100 times.

It is on my top 10 list. The Von Trapp Family… all waltzing around.. and singing… in their little lederhosen….and trying to make sense of things in Nazi-Occupied-Austria.

Things got dicey.  But ultimately, the hills were alive… I am telling you. Alive. Needle pulling thread. Warm woolen mittens. And just how DO YOU solve a problem like Maria?

When I was a kid, I used to stand on our living room coffee table, with this album turned up full blast on our record player, and sing into the mirror that hung above the mantle. First I would be Maria, then Captain Von Trapp, to Sister Margaretta….. and then work my way through all the different parts of the cast.

Full tilt Edelweiss. Sound of Music Unleashed.  There were no limits. I wanted Lederhosen. Dang it again… I STILL want Lederhosen. They would go great with my Sock Monkey Hat.

Yes, I can see it now… me dancing around on the courthouse steps (sort of like the mansion’s marble steps….) and signing at the top of my lungs…. “Do-Re-Mi”

Yep. That old Von Trapp family sang about everything…. everywhere. They sang when they were happy. Sang when they were sad. Lonely. Scared. In love. They’d hit a note or two when they were confident. Tired. On the lam. Or happy again.

I propose, in honor of the anniversary…. while each and every one of us are out about our business today… that we break in to song. Whatever the occasion may be. Wherever we are.

Leaving work for the day?  “So Long. Farewell.  Auf Weidersehen, goodbye….”

Or… at the gym on the StairMaster?  Give it a heartfelt…”Climb Every Mountain.”

Out walking your dog? Heck, just belt out “The Lonely Goatherd” song verbatim.

Best idea yet… darn some socks and sing “Sew… a needle pulling thread….Fa…. a note to follow so….”

But seriously. There were good lessons to be learned in that story. Lessons about strength of character, and honest principles.

And when the world feels like it is crumbling around you… simply remember your favorite things.

Whiskers on kittens.  Blue satin sashes.  Bright copper kettles.  Rock on Gretl and the Gang.  Rock on.