A cowardly, anonymous, individual hurls a vindictive, obscene, insult at me, but, after surveying the bigger picture, I find comfort in my afternoon coffee; a cat forces me to take a break
Wednesday, January 6, 2010 at 4:01AM 
When you blog, you know that sooner or later, some cowardly, anonymous, person lacking the guts to even identify him/herself is going to slam you bad, hit you with an obscene insult - even call you a dumbass. Well, it happened to me today, on my walk.
Remember that car that I found stuck in the snow two days ago? It's still stuck in the snow and someone took advantage of that fact to scrawl an insult to me in the mud stuck to its doors.
I wonder who this person was? What did I write that upset him/her so?
I reject this criticism. I'm not the dumbass here. Whoever wrote this - that person's the dumbass.
It isn't too smart of the owner to leave this car sitting here for days, either. I've seen a lot of cars lose all their windows and get trashed this way.
Of course, that's assuming that the owner left it here. There are other possibilities.
;)
I had hoped that I would meet someone to photograph on my walk today, someone who could tell me an interesting story, but I saw only person my whole walk. That was a jogger, and he crossed an intersection more than half-a-block behind me.
If I hadn't have turned around at just the right moment, I wouldn't have seen him at all.
I didn't even see a dog.
That's mighty unusual.
I did see a squirrel, dashing through these trees, too tiny to show up in a photograph.
Given the time of year, that seemed a bit unusal, too.
And I saw a few ravens, but none came close enough to get a decent photo.
;)
Later, as I drove Margie to get a burrito, I saw a surveyor, through the dirty windshield of my car as I came to the four-way stop at Lucille and Spruce streets.
Some of you who visit here have been reveling over the fact that it is colder where you are right now then it is here. You might want to pay attention to this guy - particularly his feet.
Those are bunny boots that he is wearing. If you are going to be out for awhile and you can find some, they will keep your feet warm.
But if you wear them for several days in a row and you are in the cold all the time, then their linings will become saturated with sweat and the cold will gradually penetrate and freeze that sweat and then these boots will become pockets of frozen hell.
So if you are going to be out for days on end, what you want to do is have two pairs of boots, so that one is always drying out.
;)
"Bill! Yesterday... where were you?" Carmen asked sternly after I pulled up to the window. You will recall that she closed the Metro Cafe down for four days over the New Year's weekend and that she had expressed great fear that I would abandon her for another coffee house.
And then, yesterday, Margie took the car to Anchorage so that she could return Kalib to his parents, so I had no transportation.
"You could have walked!" Carmen said. "You always walk."
And it's true. Metro Cafe is only two miles from my house and I could have walked.
"Yeah, but I have to listen the NPR news on the radio at four," I defended myself. "I can't listen to it if I'm walking."
"You can get one of those things and put an earphone in your ear," Carmen said.
Well, she had me there.
She told me that she was having an open house at 7:00 and that a candidate for governor was going to be there. She told me I should come by, take a few pictures, but I had to decline, as I had too much work to do.
"You work all the time, don't you," she said.
"Pretty much," I said.
That's Rhonda who was serving the coffee so Carmen could prepare for the open house.
;)
You will recall that I had a proposal that I had planned to spend the three-day New Year's weekend putting together - a proposal that could make a significant difference in my life, or could eat up three days of my time for nothing.
I barely managed to touch it all weekend long, for reasons already explained.
So after I got up yesterday, I said, "I can do it in one day."
I then worked into the wee hours and realized I couldn't. (In fact, it is the wee hours again. Today is over, tomorrow has already come, but it still feels like today.)
So, this morning I said, "I can finish it up today."
Late in the evening, I was working furiously on it, when Pistol-Yero positioned himself by the keyboard, making it very hard to work.
"Get down, Pistol-Yero," I said.
;)
So Pistol-Yero got down - onto my lap. He forced me to take a break.
And now, at this very moment, another cat, the black one, Jim, has just stepped onto my lap and I am forced to reach around him just to put my finger-tips on the keyboard.
I guess I am done for the day.
Tomorrow, I will finish that project. That will be three days - just like I originally planned for, just three days later.
Reader Comments (14)
Seriously, Bill, I bet the dumbass thing was aimed at the driver who left the car sit for days. That's kind of a dumb thing to do. Makes the snowplows job harder, is a traffic hazard. Really. I'll bet it has nothing to do with you at all. Probably written on the side of the car, an opinion on the driving skills of the the driver of this car. Ironic, isn't it, since the opinionated person was obviously a pedestrian...
God help Carmen if someone ever gets you a cappucino machine...
Perhaps the message was not meant for you. I'd prefer to think it was aimed at the owner of the car.
My cats rule my computer too. They monitor my usage very carfully!
Debby, you've already said what I was going to say, but since you mention the snowplows, isn't it possible that the snowplow driver stopped, got down, walked over and sent a message to the car's owner?
Maybe you're being paranoid, Bill, thinking someone's out to insult you. (Of course, just because you might be paranoid doesn't mean that what you fear isn't true.)
Bill, you were making a little joke, weren't you?
I think Bill said all that tongue-in-cheek about the message on the car.
Now, about that cat! Royce had such a benign look on his face in yesterday's pictures. This cat has a purposeful determined look... "pay attention to me, dammit!"...then, when he has your full attention, gets that aloof, "I could care less" look... Just like my cats.
Royce has probably evolved into a feline person -- my cats, and this tabby, they look like they're content to be all feline, still.
P.S. Have you seen Mel Green's cat Vai, at her blog Henkimaa? Very elegant, formal tuxedo cat, with the most luxuriant fur suit.
Bills 'dumbass' comments were obviously a joke, he knows it wasnt directed towards him. Personally, a laughed when I saw the picture of 'dumbass' written on the car. Thats exactly what I think everytime I see a ditch diver, especially right now when the Wasilla area hasnt seen any snow since the week before Christmas and the streets have been relatively clear.
Can't tell you how much I enjoy your blog!!! I've learned more about Alaska than I ever learned in school or any blog....all Palin/all the time. Nice to know there are real humans up there and kitties too! I'm a cat lover (have 3) and my how you have "captured" them. INDEPENDENT!!!! Love little Calib and how he has you around his little finger...such love by all of you! He's one lucky little boy. I came on-board after Margies accident, but glad she is doing so well. Can't imagine an Arizonan climatizing to the cold! Love sure makes your home glow. You are such a good photographer/writer that you have completely "sucked" me in with your humaness!!! Keep up the good work....love it all...like I have a new family! It's very cold on the Colorado eastern plains this morning and may dip to -12 tonight/with snow. Have my husband in the hospital ... to iffy to try and drive 60 miles to go visit today..He's warm and being cared for so feel OK for not going out in this. Don't want to end up like the "dumbass" and try to get help with a walker!
Thanks again for a wonderful spot in my day. Mrs G
Bill stirs it up!! I would never consider a photographer and writer with your talent a dumbass! Someone who drives into a ditch? I guess that's a dumbass. Hopefully you have never done that, or if you have it was a l o n g t i m e ago!
I suspect that the owner of that car and the teenager that wrote that don't know that your blog and the photograph exist.
Love it ... cats are like that! Lay on your newspaper; novel; sewing ... they are wonderfully adept at drawing the attention to what really matters ... them. Our own special kitty was when she was younger, very intrigued by the printer. One day I went to the desk to find her curled up in the out-tray of the printer! I love the looks of your coffee kiosks. Wish I lived there just so I could buy a latte from them.
I was looking for more pictures of Kalib the cutie pie. Oh, well, maybe next time. Here in GA it's been as low as 19 degrees over the last few nights. Brrrrrr! We are expecting some snow within the next few days, and I plan to enjoy it. This is my first year after retirement so I can stay in bed, hang out in the house, and watch the snow without worrying about whether my students can make it to school because of the snow. I miss my students but still hear from some of them by phone and/or email. Hope your project turns out the way you want it to.
I hope your project is a success, Mr. Hess :)
Debby, Manx, Mama, Albert, CG: Well, of course the insult was aimed at me. As should be obvious to anyone, the anonymous coward reads my blog and that’s how he/she knew the car was there. If she/he had wanted to insult the driver of the car, s/he would sent me a message and asked me to print it out and place it under the windshield wiper.
CginWI – I never joke. I am an extremely serious and dour man.
But, thankfully, as today’s post makes clear, Anonymous Coward has retracted the insult.
Karenj – I have not seen Mel Green’s cat, but thanks for the tip. I will track it down.
Lisaj – Yes, I wish we would get some new snow to cover this old stuff.
Mrs Gunka – Thanks, stay warm, take good care of those kitties and keep coming by.
Michelle – It has been a few years since I wound up in a ditch, but, you always know, sooner or later, if you keep driving around here, you will do it again.
Diasydem – If you ever come up, you can pet the cats and then I will treat you to a latte at Metro Café.
Maiiji – I must take Margie to the airport tonight so she can go to Arizona but she can’t leave without seeing Kalib first, so I am certain he will be in the blog tomorrow.
Ash – Thanks. Me too.
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