On a Lighter Note

Lighthearted Posts

Karma working over time, I love it.

~ Ron Walker ~ 12 Comments

I know, it’s not nice to laugh at someone’s misfortune. It seems as if I read somewhere that there was a rule, that ‘if they asked for it’ then it was okay to giggle if Karma stepped in. I could be wrong, but I smiled and snickered anyway. Many times it takes so long for karma to get through its extensive list of well deserving recipients, that we think it is never going to happen.

Then there are the times when you are blessed to witness the dolling out of long overdue payback. Today was one of those. We have a new person here in the park that has apparently acquired a small 4 cylinder vehicle with a very loud (or no) muffler. It also barely runs. This necessitates having to rev up the engine for enough power to drag it forwards. 11PM is not a good time to be testing out your latest anemic street-racer.

Karma must have been close by this morning.

This morning around 7:30AM he decides to test it once again. As he takes off down the road, making more noise than speed, there is a loud noise and smoke begins to pour out behind it. About an hour later we see it being towed into the park on a tow-strap behind another worn out looking vehicle. Karma must have been close by this morning.

I have a neighbor that is a great guy, hard worker, about 30 years old. He just for whatever reason doesn’t follow requests well. My German Shepherd Max has been trained by me not to jump up and lean on the fence. I have kindly asked the guy to please not call Max to the fence and get him to jump up so he can pet him. At that point he always remembers and apologizes.

Can anyone see where this is going?

This morning I hear Max barking excitedly, I step to the window to check on him. There is the neighbor leaning over the fence. He has Max’s long, cylinder shaped, orange plastic toy, that has an 12-inch rope on one end. Now the neighbor has a two handed grip on the plastic toy. Max who is 87lbs has a death grip on the rope end pulling with all his might. The neighbor is playing tug-o-war (something we have also asked him not to do) with Max. Can anyone see where this is going?

Max’s Toy

The guy is leaning over the fence pulling hard to get Max to release the toy. He has it in a double hand grip with the round blunt end pointed at his face… You guessed it, Max releases his grip and the toy flies into the guy’s nose, HARD. He staggers back against his fence that is only about 2 feet behind him. He looked like he was going to pass out but grabbed the fence and stood there dabbing at his nose. It must have been a very hard impact. He looks around to see if anyone may have seen his misfortune. He staggered as he went back to his house.

So Karma apparently had a sense of humor today and stuck around for a double header. The days not over either!

Comments welcome,

 

I have one Phobia, it’s a bright one.

~ Ron Walker ~ 15 Comments

I used to have two things that drove me nuts. Some call them phobias? A metal Rake on concrete was as bad as fingernails on a chalk board. Spiders. Spiders were my nemesis, I couldn’t touch one on a page. I outgrew those as I aged, gracefully I might add.

As adulthood overtook me, I discovered another strange quirk. “Light-bulbs when they blow out.”

I have tried to diagnose this reaction, or fear, of bulbs that go out. Generally they go out with a brilliant flash of blue, sometimes accompanied by a popping sound. Some bulbs expire gracefully, with just a quick dimming to nothingness.

Is it an ancient primal fear of lightning striking my caveman ancestors? Whatever it is always, always, results in me jumping half out of my skin. Sometimes dropping whatever I have in my hands and uttering a couple not so nice words (colorful metaphors). Michelle thinks this is humorous if she is nearby.

So if someone ever wanted to make me talk, all they would need is a bank of light bulbs that can be rigged to blow out, one at the time on demand. I’ll sing like a Canary.

Comments welcome,

My Cat (Reboot), has a drinking problem.

~ Ron Walker ~ 15 Comments
reboot young
Playing with Trackball. Picture by me.

I have a solid black Cat named “Reboot”, She was a rescue given to me by my Veterinarian on Halloween 2007. Just a tiny thing due to almost dying at birth, she has been my companion here in my Man-Cave-Office. I named her reboot because as a kitten she would get under the desk and step on the power strip, effectively killing power to one of the computers not on a UPS.

Her first addiction. Picture by me.

She developed a serious drinking problem at a young age. Her being tiny, made anything the size of a coffee cup fair game. I know, she’s different, a cat that likes coffee, preferably with cream and sugar. Of course, she is the same animal that turns her nose up at tuna fish. 10 years later she still has the drinking problem. She has also developed over the years, a taste for Diet Coke or Sweetened iced Tea.

“Reboot”, picture by me.

If you are leaving the room, don’t leave your drink. If you do you may as well plan on washing your drink container out. You have to just assume she has sampled it. I think her head has grown narrow from raiding the drinks from the taller glasses, or maybe it was just genetics. Anyhow, if anyone knows of a good drinking program for a stubborn cat, please let me know. Do any of you have cats with drinking problems?

That’s all I have for this wobbly Wednesday. I hope you’re on the downhill slide towards the weekend now.

Comments welcome,

Carrying the Green Movement too far?

~ Ron Walker ~ 13 Comments
The new “Green” vehicle?

I had to run into the big city on an errand. The sun was out bright so I opted to take the Harley for the ride in. I was a bit dismayed as a sunny ride turned into rainy looking clouds over a short period of time. Then I happened up on this and it helped me find some humor in the less than optimal trip.

My apologies for the picture quality. The picture was taken while sitting on my motorcycle at a red light, from a cell phone camera.

We all want to be ‘Green’ and save the Earth, but I was shocked when I pulled up behind what appeared to be a giant bush, at a traffic light. Of course I knew it wasn’t really a bush, but all I could do was shake my head at the insanity.

It was a small compact type truck, fully invisible from the rear, loaded down with limbs from some type of bush.The driver was an elderly man, with a big cigar in his mouth. He had a sour look on his face as I passed him, like he’d maybe swallowed a lemon whole, or the cigar was too soggy.

I spent a long time on the way home, and sitting here now, just thinking up comical captions for it, or crazy/funny scenarios to say about it.

  • One first thought was he will thump ashes out the window and maybe catch the rolling bush on fire. Then someone could report what appears to be a low fast comet streaking down the highway, as he tries to stay ahead of the flames.
  • Or maybe you light it, and it becomes a new mosquito repelling truck.
  • It was about to rain, maybe the wife had him watering the plants as he drove to the store.
  • Maybe he was a left over fanatical Prepper from the 2012 survival craze trying to conceal his vehicle, Then he wouldn’t be seen and lead someone back to his secret bunker.
  • Another was some unfortunate person not paying attention (think millennial yuppie texting), Doesn’t see the mess in front of them stopped, and rear ends into it. I could just hear them calling 911. “911, please state your emergency”. Driver: “Yes, I’m not sure, but I think I just ran into a bush in the road?”. I wonder also. If the old man drove off after the impact, would he technically be “Leafing the scene?”

If you can think of something else to label it with, or describe it, have at it. It’s amazing what you can drive in this state.

Comments welcome, (no open flames please)