Tues. June 14, 2011

22 days and we will be leaving the US of A for Britain! I am so excited! This will be my fourth time to visit Europe and I am MORE excited this time than I was the first! Knowing what we’ll be experiencing and knowing that I love it makes me just glow with anticipation. Countin’ the days (and the hours and the minutes…)

Got my hair cut this afternoon so that I shouldn’t have to deal with that until we get back. That is unless my follicles decide to grow even faster than they usually do! I’ve been sorting and culling outfits to get down to the bare minimum necessary to take along. I do NOT want an ultra-heavy suitcase to slow me down! Now if I can just cull my shoes, I’ll be in packing heaven!

I’ve a few more details to work out in regards to the theatre visit in London and some research to do on some of the sites we will be visiting, but other than that I feel really good about my preparations. I still haven’t emailed the tour director (Should I email first? Protocol? Play hard to get?) and I haven’t heard anything about the other group(s) that will be traveling with us. Oh the suspense! I’ll just have to put on my waiting hat and be patient.

Until then…Dreaming of Irish landscapes…

I know, I know, two years is a ridiculous amount of time to be away from the blog. I am properly embarrassed by my inability to write in a moderately timely fashion. Tonight the husband discovered my blog (it’s an attachment to every stinking email that I send) and he questioned me about it. And apparently he read some of the entries! Holy cow! And lo and behold~he liked them!

Well! All it takes is one good compliment to make me climb right back up on the wagon. Weak, I know, but I’m nothing if not swayed by a compliment. So I shall endeavor to be a better writer.  Well, at least a more consistent writer. Heard that before? My next trip to Europe is getting ready to sail (or fly, whatever) in less than 30 days so I guess I DO have something to write about. And I have teachers, English teachers, on this trip. Yipes! Better pick up my participles.

Yup, off to the UK in just a few weeks. Gosh I’ve got a lot to do! But I am SOOOOO ready to get out of town! I love Kentucky and I love Carlisle but I need a break from criminals and other people’s problems. It’s the job and it’s never boring but I need to pretend to be someone else for a week. Or week and a half, that sounds even better.

So friends I’ll post some more nonsense as soon as possible. Got a lot to make up for.

The following article was one of two that appeared in The Carlisle Mercury on July 1, 2009 after our very successful journey to England and France.

The muffled drum’s sad roll has beat

The soldier’s last tattoo;

No more on Life’s parade shall meet

That brave and fallen few.

On fame’s eternal camping ground

Their silent tents to spread,

And glory guards, with solemn round

The bivouac of the dead.

These poignant words from The Bivouac of the Dead by Theodore O’Hara were written in 1847 in memory of the Kentucky troops killed in the Mexican War, but they were recently recited by another group of Kentuckians to honor the sons of Nicholas County who are buried in Normandy, France at the American Military Cemetery. On June 16, 2009, twenty students and adults from Nicholas County and the surrounding area, visited the cemetery at Colville-sur-mer, France and sought out the white marble crosses of Staff Sgt. Ernest Snapp and Sgt. Edwin Saunders along with the name of Tech 5 Luther Waugh who is listed on the Wall of the Missing. Students and adults read aloud selections from several poems and the Carlisle Mercury articles from 1944 that announced the sad news of their deaths. Nicholas County soil had been carefully carried to France by two of the adults, and was spread upon each of their graves so that these men might rest beneath just a little bit of home. American and Kentucky flags were also displayed at each gravesite to honor their connections to our Commonwealth and our country. Each person involved was deeply moved and humbled at being in the presence of so many American Heroes and all felt the connection to these 3 men who are buried so very far away from our little community. Liberty is not free and now these 12 students know, first hand, the price of that freedom.

Sons of the Dark and Bloody Ground

Ye must not slumber there,

Where stranger steps and tongues resound

Along the heedless air.

Your own proud land’s heroic soil

Shall be your fitter grave;

She claims from war his richest spoil—

The ashes of her brave. Theodore O’Hara, 1847.

Jon placing Nicholas Co. soil on the grave of SSGT Ernest Snapp

Now this statement is going to sound much, much snootier than it really is.  I flew to Paris for the weekend!  Well, that DOES look pretty uppity but really, really I was “working”!!!  EF Tours, with whom I am taking my tour to Europe in June, takes it’s new Group Leaders to Paris, France for Orientation.  See!  I was working!  I spent a lot of Saturday in a meeting.  Except for those two hours I had to go to the room and go back to bed because of my jet lag, but whose counting those?

I was in Paris last year as a part of my tour with the Canadians to visit Canada’s WWI and WWII battlefields.  Fabulous experience, by the way, but this was more laid back and personal.  Since it was all adults/Group Leaders we were very attentive and really melded as a group.  I have made some wonderful new friends~all teachers~and plan to stay in touch while we all get prepared for our trips.  We went to several places that I didn’t get to go to last year so that was special.

The Musee du Louvre was a magical palace that I didn’t have nearly enough time to explore.  It’s kinda like the Smithsonian in that if you don’t have a week you can’t do anything but run around and hit the high points.  I made it to the three ladies (The Mona Lisa, The Victory and The Venus di Milo) and walked among some spectacular paintings and sculpture but I didn’t get to see the mummies, Egyptian artifacts or anything else for that matter.  To make it even worse I was soooo tired by that time, being our first day in Paris, that at some point I didn’t actually CARE if I saw anything else.  I am ashamed.  Luckily we go back in June and I’ll be mapping out my route very, very carefully!

 

 The Musee du Louvre is an amazing, humongous space that just was filled with captivating and spectacular objects. *sigh*

When I first went to Europe last year I didn’t think I would like Paris or France for that matter.  I had heard too many evil stories about rude French people and that they wouldn’t speak English even if they knew it!  I must say that I have found all of that to be untrue.  I saw more rude folk in New York in 2005 than I have twice in France!  Sometimes they really can not speak to me but aside from one salad incident in Montmartre, (I’m still embarrassed) I have made myself understood….I think.  I do find that it helps to surround yourself with people who actually DO speak French!  Maybe in time I’ll be one of those people who can at least get through most conversations with a little French, you never know!

Paris is a beautiful, lively, living city that almost transcends description.  The history seeps into you, the buildings speak to you and the food and ambiance of the entire city become a part of your being.  My, my! That’s dramatic.  Hard not to wax poetic about a city with as much to offer as The City of Light.  It almost makes me wish I didn’t live out in the country…well pretty close, anyway.

I made new friends, met up with an old friend, saw new places and some that I had been to before.  What was there not to like?  Hopefully though, I learned plenty of great new ideas for my trip in June with the students and parents.  I want to be able to show them how wonderful this place can be even if you don’t speak the language or are just learning about the culture.  I feel like they will be sponges and it’s my job to make sure they soak up as much as possible!

So if I just had one word for this trip it would be fabulous.  I know that’s not the most spectacular word but it fits the experience like a glove.  All parts-no complaints-go back in a moment~just let me!!Kudos to the EF Staff, Larry and Rita and all the new Group Leaders~wish we could do it again!

Oh man! I’ve got alot of work to do on my tour, I better get to it.  I want this adventure to be the highlight of these students and parents lives!  No pressure!

Until next time, remember it’s ALL good!!

K

Me and that Tower

***Disclaimer***  The opinions expressed in the following blog are only the opinions of myself and no other person, such as my employer, family, friends or citizens, amen. (In other words, don’t blame anyone else, it’s all me.)

 

This week an article appeared on the front page of the Lexington Herald-Leader that has forced me out of my literary hibernation to post some opinions and comments.  I have been on my soapbox for the better part of a week, but I do believe it’s time to actually write about this fiasco and not just chew on it internally.

For those of you outside the borders of Nicholas County, Kentucky, an article on the attempted move of a mobile home (loosely described, but I’m getting ahead of myself) down a main highway in our sleepy little Kentucky county has caused folks from near and very far to voice their opinions regarding our local Sheriff and his handling of what could have been a tragic situation.  A local woman (who shall remain nameless~go look up the article) attempted to move a 25+ year old “mobile home” to a new location across the county with the help of a couple of guys and a tractor.  She had NO permit, NO insurance and broke just about every law on the book in regards to moving a trailer on a highway in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. 

Because of the tone of the article, written by Mary Meehan, everyone was made out to be a stereotypical Kentucky backwoods idiot.  Although cleverly worded, I’ll admit Ms. Meehan has a flair for the comedic, it basically pointed a finger at everyone in the county and for that matter in the Commonwealth, and said “ain’t we just the biggest bunch of hillbillies this side of New York?”  Sadly, I expect my journalism to be free of those kinds of slanted opinions.  Just the facts, ma’am, if you would.  If you want to poke fun at folks, go on late night tv, don’t work for one of the biggest newspapers in the state and pretend you’re stating the whole truth.  Of course, the fact that our Sheriff is, as we say, “a colorful character” made it all too easy to make him sound ridiculous.

Back to the story.  As I understand it, the owners of the trailer allegedly jerked it off of it’s concrete blocks in the trailer park instead of jacking it up and removing them, and proceeded down the road on tires that they had been warned would not hold up to the task.  Helping them with this move was not the person whose name was splashed all over the paper but a couple of other individuals who perhaps had good reason to make themselves scarce when the going got a little out of hand.  They didn’t want to be seen by law enforcement, if you get my drift. “Pancake” Myers was called after the fact to help move the mobile home, so he was definately in the wrong place at the wrong time, and got the blame.

So, they got approximately 1 1/2 miles down the road, onto a federal highway, US Highway 68, and promptly blew out the tires on one side and ran partially off the road.  Dead stop.  Since they didn’t leave the trailer park until approximately 4:00 p.m. darkness was falling, it was raining and the prediction was for cold temperatures, possible sleet or snow.  Not good!!  On top of that, the location on the highway, where the trailer was stopped, was directly in between two small rises in the road so that you could NOT see this disaster until you were right on top of it!  What a miracle that no one was killed because of this debacle, no doubt the tone of the article would have been completely different!

Our Sheriff, Dick Garrett, was called to the scene and for the next 9 to 10 hours he and one of his deputys stood in the road, directed traffic and attempted to extract this family from the deep, deep hole that they had dug for themselves. Everything that could have been done, including the Sheriff calling a professional towing service from Lexington, was attempted, but it was not to be.  When the professionals raised several air bags that were specifically designed to lift large objects~such as mobile homes~in order to get to the tires, they tore huge holes in the rotting floorboards and it had to be abandoned.  The tongue of the mobile home ripped off during another try with tow trucks, as it was apparently in no condition to be used in that way~good thing it happened then and not when the wreck was moving!!  In other words, that mobile home was going nowhere from that point unless it was in pieces.  And all along, the owner was right there with the Sheriff, agreeing to everything that was attempted!  In the end, that last try to “scoot” the whole thing off the road caused it to tumble over the small embankment and turn over.  Sad, but what else could have happened?

Now well before that point, the owners were given over 2 hours to remove their possessions but  you should ask yourself, why in the world would anyone move a trailer without first removing their furniture, clothes, dogs, cats, lizard, 1000 pound freezer, etc.?  Good question, obviously they didn’t think of it.  So they HAVE their property, they did NOT lose everything as the newspaper article and the alleged “victim” has repeatedly stated on every news cast that she could get on. 

Instead, everyone wants to blame the Sheriff for removing a possible disaster from a major highway.  Is it his fault the trailer was in absolutely no condition to be moved in the first place?  Absolutely not!  Let me just say, if you were to take a similarly decomposing structure and land it in the middle of say, New Circle Road in Lexington, block traffic and then expect the city or county to clean it up FOR you, do you think they would let it sit for 10 hours while you gnash your teeth and try to explain that you don’t have any money, that’s why you didn’t do it the proper, legal way in the first place? Let me think….ah…NO!  Not going to happen.  Firstly, you would have been cited by the Department of Transportation so quick it would make your head spin!  Those tickets cost upwards of a thousand dollars each, so  think twice before doing this in some other locale where the Sheriff isn’t as loath to put people in jail, unless absolutely necessary, as ours tends to be.  

Sheriff Garrett is really quite witty and doesn’t mind to poke fun at himself, thus the pretend election slogan from the last election~”More Dick in ’06″~you can’t possibly think that was for real, could you?  He is funny and he is quite upfront about his actions, which around the community is understood, but in the hands of people in other states and big cities is a cause for ridicule and a belittling attitude.  That’s ok, you stay where you are, if you don’t like us, don’t move here!  I get to say that since I was not born here but have lived here for almost 25 years, I wouldn’t live any place else.

The majority of the people here in Nicholas County know that Dick Garrett and his family have been helping people for many, many years.  I, myself, have seen him reach in his pocket to give folks money when he knew they didn’t have it.  Garrett’s Resturant has fed anyone that came in the doors and was hungry, even if you couldn’t pay, and has been doing that since his father, Jake, was living and owned it.  How many of our local near-vagrants would have been without a roof over their heads and something to warm their belly if the Garretts hadn’t stepped in to help them?

Currently, Dick offers his fish frying services, free of charge, to any county organization that needs it.  All they have to buy is the fish/supplies and Dick and his crew will come and work to the betterment of high school cheerleaders, Rotary Club and any other group that asks.  Is that the attitude of a county official who doesn’t care about the citizens of the county and their problems?  Not that I can tell.

We all have to take responsiblity for our actions~whether good or bad~that’s life.  Our country seems to be made of whiners and complainers “it’s not my fault!” is heard way, way too much these days.  My boss, the County Attorney, said it beautifully in an email to someone from far away who decided to throw in his two cents~” Sometimes, the choices we make leave us struggling with the consequences.”  Amen.

I shall step down from my box now.  I’m feeling a little better having voiced my opinion about this sad situation.  And it is sad from many points of view.  We are a small, poor, rural community but we do care about our friends and neighbors here and I have NEVER seen anyone in this town, who asked for help, be turned down.  That’s why Carlisle is STILL “The little town with the big heart.”

It’s all good for now….

I was struggeling with what to write this week when a seemingly uneventful trip to deliver a birthday cake turned into adventure travel. Who knew? For those outside the state of Kentucky, let me tell you that hurricane Ike is making himself felt here today in a pretty big way! We’ve had a wind advisory out since yesterday but I didn’t really think much of it. In fact, I kinda enjoyed the brisk “breeze” this morning as I sipped the ole java out on the front porch. Big turn!

I had to deliver a birthday cake to Flemingsburg, about a 20 minute drive from our slice of heaven here at Blue Licks, that quickly became at least 45 minutes worth of driving into the back woods of Fleming County. Turns out a barn had blown into the road at just the right place to make finding a direct route into town a complete bust. The good news is that I saw about 10 miles worth of the county that I had never seen before, including crossing a wooden bridge and passing the cemetery where Franklin Sously, one of the Iwo Jima flag raisers, is buried. Beautiful countryside, but the wind was so wicked today that I was looking more at the tree limbs in the road than the bucolic view.

So I get to Flemingsburg, meet the birthday boy (he’s 3), shop for food staples~you never know if we’re going to be eating sandwiches for three days~and decide on an alternate route home. This alternate route is easily 20 miles out of the way but I’ve got no choice as my Suzuki does not have a gear for flight. No problem! I pass the old guy smackng his toothless gums together as he drives 25 miles per hour and think I’m good to go when~you’re gonna love this~I top a rise and come face to face with two Amish buggies side by side in the middle of the roadway! It seems that the teenage boys driving said buggies were probably racing as one was passing the other on this two lane, curvey, skinny, country road with no passing lane.

Well this was a first for me! I knew that lots of Amish lived on this particular stretch of road as Andy, the son, used to date a gal from the area and he was always complaining that he got behind 5 buggies going 10 mph late on Saturday nights. I believe that they have church on Saturdays, but don’t quote me on that. It might as well been four boys in cars, with the grins they had on their faces, as it caused me to have to jump on the brakes to keep from having a head-on horse ‘n Zuki collison. The girls in the next buggy were obviously laughing at the near miss and just as teens will do, enjoying the mischief. Did someone say the Amish were different from everyone else? Hmmm.

I am happy to report the rest of the trip was blissfully un-eventful until I got within half a mile of our lane and a big Locust limb was blocking part of the roadway. Piece of cake (did I mention cake earlier?) comparatively. I made Roger come back with me and be neighborly and move it out of the way.

So I guess this entry fits in with my “travel” theme even if the travel was close to home. I always tell people “you just never know what’s around the corner” when it comes the day to day possibilities of serendipitous happenings. Have a great week and I hope you find adventure where you are! It’s all good!

K

I said last weekend that I would figure out how many miles we traveled as a family between Thursday and the following Monday. Wow!! We did the oil industry well between at least three planes, two autos and~get this~four, yes, I said FOUR countries. New Rice fam record is (drum roll, please) 10,325 miles. And that doesn’t count Roger being packed around Virginia by his college roommate on a monster sight-seeing tour during his time there!

To summarize. Kelly and Jenny drove approximately 900 miles from Kentucky to Oklahoma. Kelly then flew back to Louisville and drove to Carlisle. Roger drove from Carlisle to Louisville, hopped a plane to Norfolk (bizarre wandering about the state commenced) going around 700 miles, then drove the repossessed (har) little blue S-10 back to Kentucky for almost the same mileage.

Andy, of course, gets the travel prize for the week! He begins in Norfolk, flies to Iceland, where I understand they were under “house arrest” for awhile as the US Navy and the Icelandic Army didn’t quite see eye to eye on the timing, then they jump to Kuwait and make the final stop at Fujairah, UAE , where he is enjoying (right!) the sights, smells and sounds of the desert. He tops off with around 7125 miles (as the crow flies). For a grand total as seen above. Crazy stuff!! I am just pleased that we all got to where we were going and all in one piece.

I have heard from the Navy Yeoman, he is hot and working a great deal but as his mother, who has sooo much sympathy for him said, he really doesn’t have anything else to do there, now does he? I’m sending out his first care package and his Nana from Alabama has already beaten me to it by a couple of days. If anyone wants his address, just comment or email me and I’ll give it to you. I’m sure he would appreciate mail from everyone.

Now onward to future travel. The EF European tour is set and we now have 20 participants, including myself. I am stoked! I guess we can officially start counting down the days, eh? Be on the lookout for our next meeting. We’ll be talking about passports (hopefully we are working on this, yes?), packing, flying and anything else that might pop into my head or yours. Start writing down your questions and I’ll do the same. It’s not too late if you haven’t signed on, just give me a hollar and we’ll work it out.

Off to work tomorrow, Labor Day is over I suppose. *sigh* Hope everyone has a great short week! Remember, it’s all good!

K

This has been the week of travel for the whole family.  Crazy travel. Long, long distance travel.  Travel with a purpose.  This has also been one of those trips that made me a witness to an incident that should never have occurred.  Where to begin?  On Thursday last, three out of the four of us was either on the road or in the air.  Jenny and I started our journey west to Oklahoma to take her back to OCU for her Senior year and Andy began his deployment to the UAE with the US Navy.  Roger just prepared to go but stayed here and “held the fort” as we are likely to say.

The good ole, green Buick did a fine job getting us out west with very little difficulty.  Thank goodness that J knows the secret combination that makes the air condititioner work and not scream it’s head off at you the whole time.  It’s kinda like: two turns to the left, four to the right, hold your nose, stick out your tongue and ~ Voila! You got air.  Thank ya,  Jesus.  I splurged on a good hotel for our mid-travel stop and it was soooo worth that extra money.  Hampton Inn- if anyone really cares- cushy beds, great big room, very comfy.  I really didn’t see much of this as I fell immediately to sleep after we dined at the Panera in town.  Hey, creature comforts in the middle of Missouri, who knew? 

The next day, on the Oklahoma Turnpike, we saw this huge plume of smoke off to the North of us and wondered what it could have been.  Turns out it was the huge train de-railment and subsequent explosions of fuel, etc. that even made the national news!  Wow!  Thank goodness no one was hurt or killed so that was lucky.  Once to OKC we managed to get all her belongings out of storage with the help of two of her dancer friends and I took everyone out for yummy sandwiches (their choice!) afterward.  Good visit, if I just didn’t have to leave her there! *sniff*

The air trip home the next morning, on the other hand, was interesting.  And I don’t necessarily mean in that good way.  I witnessed true traveler hysteria when our flight was delayed an hour (the bathroom door wouldn’t close or lock and for that you don’t get to take off) and that, as you can imagine, threw everyone’s connections to the four winds.  Now, I didn’t get too worked up about it.  I only had to connect from Cincinnati to Louisville and heck!  I coulda walked that if I had to (Bold words for a chick with a sore knee and a suitcase) or at least waited for the next plane.  But, as with the guy in the seat next to me, he didn’t really have that option as his final destination was Bucharest.  I don’t suppose there are that many connects to Bucharest from this country, but even he wasn’t that worried.  Sadly, several older gals in the group were just about beside themselves with panic at the thought of losing their flight!  When we finally got to Cincy there was an avalanche of passengers desperate to get their bags from the plane’s storage and one woman was actually knocked down and got a bloodied lip!!  This was an accident but, good grief!  I can’t imagine that anyone’s next flight is so very important that it makes us forget to be courteous to each other.  If, in fact, they had tried to work together instead of “everyone for themselves” I feel like it could have been sorted out quickly and with no blood involved.  Live and learn. 

Now I will admit that I had to do about a 300 yard run through the concourse as my name was being mentioned on the intercom as a “now or never” kinda thing.  Even though I’ve been walking every couple of days since I got home from Europe, I was out of breath!!  I used to love to sprint but those days seem to be over.  Good news, I made my flight.

At the same time that I am witnessing unintentional assault on the tarmac, Roger is parking the Suzuki in Louisville and trying to catch his flight to Norfolk.  This was all carefully orchestrated by yours truly, to coordinate the pick up/drive back home schedules and I admit to success. The Roger did have to be re-booked as he learned that mechanical problems will strand you, but made it to Virginia and was able to “repossess” the son’s third vehicle (don’t ask) with little trouble.  I did find out last night that he was stopped by the Virginia State Police because the truck has that blue neon around the license plate and that’s against the law there.  In Kentucky it just can’t be flashing, we looked it up in the KRS book before I left the office last week.  Besides, if they ticket him here I’m pretty sure my boss will let him do community service.  😉

 

That leaves the son.  He tells me that he flew from Norfolk to Iceland to Kuwait and finally to UAE.  And guess what?  It’s hot there!  Really?  I didn’t get to talk to him long but I’m hoping he’ll grace me with an email before the week is out.  No doubt his travel wasn’t nearly as comfortable as mine, bathrooms or not.  I’ll pass on any Andyisms as they become available, as I’m sure they will.

So we have mostly traveled East and West this week as a family.  I may even get curious enough to figure out exactly how many miles we will have managed to put on the ole family odometer as a group.  More than a couple, for sure, and I have certainly seen what my mother tried to teach me.  Courtesy and patience pays off in the end.  More information to tuck away for further use.  It’s all good.

K

It was pointed out to me this week by one of my closest friends, that I don’t stay home anymore.  Hmmm.  Hadn’t thought about it lately!  I used to say that I “lived in my car” during the years of ballet, band and sports.  I could eat, sleep, pay bills, talk on the phone, you name it, I pretty much did it, in the car.  I have, in fact, slept in the car as I waited for children to get done dancing, in minus freezing weather in the dead of winter.  I was never home.

Then came the transition years.  The kids got old enough to drive themselves and I was only needed to show up and applaud or pay the bill.  Interesting years.  Eventually, maybe two years ago, I wasn’t needed at all because frankly, there wasn’t anyone here that needed me.  In other words,  “the chillen done runned oft.”  (Those who know the husband will, of course, be able to hear the accent in that last line.  If you don’t, well, just know that I’m not making fun of anyone I don’t know personally.)  And I stayed home.  I mean, I got off work and I came straight home and I didn’t leave the house until I needed to go back to work the next day.  I only shopped on weekends and then just barely drove up the road.  Trips to Lexington were so far and few that they built whole shopping centers in the interm.  I certainly saved gas money in that time period!  Now I wish I could say that I saved money not shopping but I enjoy (immensely!!) buying online and having it delivered to my doorstep.  What a luxury!  But I digress.

I must say that I have loved being at home.  I feel like the last couple of years have been a great re-charging of my batteries.  I rested, I read books that had been put aside, well, there weren’t many of those, I’m always reading something, and I just generally worked on being domestic.  It really was a good thing.

Then suddenly, and without warning, I just don’t want to stay home anymore!  I leave work and look for places to go.  I have begun planning trips well into the future.  I am bailing from the nest.  What was the old term?  Wanderlust?  Oh my, I’m afflicted, and I’m thinking it ain’t gonna be cured anytime in the near future!  Oh well, I’ll just have to look for an antidote in as many places as I possibly can afford to go to~starting with Paris, France sometime next year.  Actually, I think that’s where I picked up the problem last May….my, my, my. 😉

 Quite possibly, this could lead to something chronic, travelitis perhap?  Well, if I’ve gotta have something, that’s certainly my first choice!  It’s all gonna be good!

K

Ok, this doesn’t have anything to do with touring Europe or emotional partings with my children.  The other night my cat decided to bring a live mouse into my house.  Ugh! Now I’m a pretty tough chick.  I have a degree in Agriculture. I was on the MEAT Judging team, for heavens sake!  But when that cat dropped that rodent on my living room floor and it ran under my computer, you’d thought I hadn’t ever seen a wild animal in my life!  I was MOST unhappy! Dad-burn feline.  There was no way I was going to bed with that critter in here, huh!!

I had to get the husband up out of the bed, find the flashlight and then identify the hidey-hole of the offender!  The whole time my blood pressure had to have been twice the normal limit!  Geez!  And of course that cat wasn’t the least bit of help.  She stood around and just looked pleased with herself for having caused all the commotion.  Ha!  See if I let her back in at night before I frisk her for contraband.

After only a small ruckus (the mouse had obviously already been in the hunter’s clutches for awhile) we managed to pin it down, scoop it up and I pitched it AND it’s captor out the front door.  My goodness!  Way, way too much activity for 11:30 at night.

Jenny’s comment for all this hilarity was “at least she’s doing her kitty-cat job!”.   Yeah, right.  An incomplete job if you ask me!

So country living strikes again, and not for the first time!  There really never is a dull moment, is there?  Moral of the story, never trust a smiling cat who’s too eager to come in the house on a cool, beautiful Kentucky night.  At least I didn’t jump on a chair and start screaming.  Hey!  I did catch a flying BAT in my boss’s office with a box a couple of months ago. 

See?  I’m not all scaredy-CAT. 😉

It’s all good!

K

The great gray hunter at her best!