Sunday, June 28, 2009

HUMILITY MONDAY JUNE 29, 2009


Mikey's new summer buzzzzzz.
Cool, easy to keep clean and no mess.


Squeaky tells Bear and me a terrible joke.
We laughed until we snorted.


Some of the folk in my town are a bit crazy, but have
good hearts. They threw candy from this... our only "float" in the parade to all the spectators.



You might confuse this with a float, but it's a concession stand build in the shape of a pirate ship.

This oddly enough is the "Mountain Men Encampment".
They kept firing the cannon on the hour. Oh my head!


A Mountain Woman. There were about fifty of these folk.



These are the Vet's bikes. They're in the pub across the street.



Makes me think of Cartman singing "I"m Sailing Away..." by Styx as fast as he can on South Park.



Looks like break time.

Bear has a new little friend, Mr. Underfoot.

It was a fairly slow and lazy weekend. I am so glad that the Sternwheeler Days madness is over for another year. The majority of Herd Beasts have gone home.

We never did our hike.
But I walked everyday... which is how we come to the title of this post. Now normally I walk early in the morning, but I managed to oversleep and missed my usual morning time to walk.

No problem. I decided to walk in the afternoon instead. This went great on Saturday. I got down to business and worked up a good sweat careening around the hallways. It felt good.

My MP3 player is always in my ear. If I manage to forget it, I'll drive all the way home for it. Not only does it give me a good beat to keep me moving a steady fast pace, it entertains my brain. Let's face it, walking in empty hallways is not very mentally stimulating. Nor is it unusual for me to break into song and sing along. Hey... there's nobody there but me!

Sunday morning and I find that Zito Von Frito has slipped his chain and gone for a fun run. I have a very ugly dog. He has psoriasis on his back, which is bald, has flaky skin and warts. He's also 13 years old and looks it. See what I mean? Ugly. His face is very cute, but that skin condition makes him something you really don't want to touch. My neighbors do not like him in their yards. My walking time was eaten up by the hunt for monster dog.

I found myself back in the building to walk around 3:30 p.m. I knew from the day before that I would get pretty warm with all the windows closed in the day's heat. But the walk is worth it and a cool shower would await.

I have been working my way back to my hour a day, but am not quite there. I'm at 45 minutes now. Next week I'll move up again. The first half hour was a breeze. I had a good pace going and was feeling better than I thought I would. It was not as hot as I was sure it would be.

I switched from Guttermouth to The Misfits... you know them from a recent post... and began to sing. When the song "Saturday Night" came on, I was into it. It's a ballad of the type you would have heard in the fifties or sixties.

You can really throw yourself into it and belt out a heartfelt rendition. That's what I was doing. Singing loud with heavy dramatic emphasis as I come down the main hall toward the foyer that leads to the gym and the stairs to the lower floor.

I'm almost there... I sing... the crescendo increasing...at the top of my lungs...

"As the moon becomes the night time... You go viciously, quietly away...I'm sitting in the bedroom where we used to sit and smoke cigarettes... Now I'm watching... Watching you die!"

There are some "oooh, ooohs" after that, which is where I was as I busted into the doorway to the gym, with my arms flung wide and my head tossing to one side... working it.

The basketball coach stopped mid-shot to stare at me. Oh yeah... and it does get worse! There on the bleachers behind him are 6 or 7 guys ranging from 18 to 30. All faces are looking at me, their horror is announced by the shocked faces.

You know there is nothing that can erase something like that. No do-over. You are stuck with the shit of the moment. My body was moving at a good clip... there wasn't much point in stopping it.

So I pulled my ear buds out and said: "Oh... I didn't know anyone was in here. Hi!" and waved at them. Yes, I pretended that I had not been singing at all. It's all your imagination guys...

There was nothing else to do, so I took a tight turn around the basketball coach and back out of the gym as fast as my feet would carry me back into the foyer and down the hall. I should note that they were still staring as I left and no one waved back.
There is no doubt at all that they heard me coming as I belted out the last part of the song. Badly... very, very badly.

I think I'll ask my boss what days the open gym basketball times are to avoid this in the future.

But I should get points for enthusiasm, and I think I certainly earned some humility points for sure!

Here is the song I was singing... in case you wonder.


Lyrics:

There's 52 ways to murder anyone.
One and two are the same, and they both work as well.
I'm coming clean for Amy.
Julie doesn't scream as well,
and the cops won't listen all night.
So maybe, I'll be over.
Just as soon as I fill them all in
and I can remember when I saw her last.
We were running all around and having a blast.
But the back seat of the drive-in is so lonely without you.
I know when your home,
I was thinking about you.
There was something I forgot to say,
I was crying on saturday night.
I was out cruising without you,
they were playing our song.
Crying on saturday night.
As the moon becomes the night time
You go viciously, quietly, away.
I'm sitting in the bedroom,
where we usedto sit and smoke cigarettes
Now I'm watching, watching you die…

And I can remember when I saw her last
We were running around and having a blast
But the backseat of the drive-in is so lonely without you
I know when you're home

I was thinking about you
There was something I forgot to say
I was crying on a Saturday Night

I was out cruising without you
They were playing our song
Crying on a Saturday Night

23 comments:

  1. I think naming a cat Mr. Underfoot is one of the most appropriate things you can name him. They are cute little bundles of joy, but yup they do tend to get underfoot.

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  2. Kittens can be underfoot in several places at once! They are a hoot to watch.

    Love those mountain vistas. Reminds me of our vacation in New Hampshire last summer.

    You know that saying, "Dance like no one is watching", well you described the singing corollary to it. Showing exuberance and joie de vivre is nothing to be ashamed of; I'm sure they've done it themselves. Heck, we've all done it.

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  3. Attitude, you got some f'in' attitude. Good job, take a bow and move on.

    A pirate ship concession stand? That really doesn't fit with the whole mountain men, war vets and fancy sailboat theme. Y'arrrgh, I'll takes me a funnel cake and cask of rum, me hearty.

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  4. Tara-- This one really is. It's as if he aims for the bottom of your feet. Scares us silly.

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  5. cube-- thanks. I'm laughing about it at this point. But I'm going to be more careful in the future.

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  6. aliencg-- Our high school... we were "The Pirates" which is why the concession stand is such. They haul it out whenever possible. They really spent a lot of time on making it.

    "Y'arrrgh, I'll takes me a funnel cake and cask of rum, me hearty." LOL Mom and pop pirates!

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  7. I don't want to sound like I'm bragging, and I almost hate to mention it, but you are such a pirate fanatic that I must say something. Here in Tampa we have a yearly celebration of
    the invasion of the pirate Jose Gaspar.

    Gasparilla has turned into a month-long celebration with 3 pirate-themed parades (children's, regular, and night), fireworks, airshows, and the best part a real flotilla of pirate ships that comes into the harbor and takes the city from the Mayor. We have hundreds of pirates on floats and running around throwing beads and candy. It can get quite rowdy.

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  8. cube-- Tampa must be a great place... The Misfits have a huge fan base there AND PIRATES who are celebrated.

    Oh man... I would love to see that. I could do a whole month of pirate pranks and pleasures! That is my kind of place alright. Lucky you. Gasparilla is a great idea for a vacation for someone like me. Now if only I can find some money...crap!

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  9. That's so cute.Once one of the college students who works in our office was the only one riding the bus, when the bus driver started singing, "All I Wanna Do is HAve some fun..." at the top of her lungs. When the student dinged the bell at her stop the driver jumped and apologized. She thought she was the only one on the bus. I love that kind of thing.

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  10. Aw, that is so cute, Ananda! You probably actually made their day...they'll all dine out on that story :-)
    Thanks for the parade pictures...and I love seeing your kids. You can definitely tell they are family to one another.

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  11. Churlita-- I feel her pain.

    A good dose of humility it good for me now and then. Makes me behave better when others do silly things. Though to be honest, I would have burst out laughing at me.

    I'm just glad it was near the end of my walk. I was able to finish in the other two wings and avoid seeing them again. To their credit, I never did hear any laughing... but that may have been my brain in freak-out mode protecting me too. Oh well.

    At least I can laugh about it now.

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  12. laura b.-- You are welcome for the parade pics. I wish I had not been trapped in my car... I could have taken pics close enough to see what was happening.

    Yes, even on ultra sound pics you can tell my kids are related. All are reruns of our training child. People constantly call Squeaky Max and he is so annoyed by this. You can't tell in this pic, but Squeaky has hair down to the middle of his back. He thinks this should make clear that he is not shorter haired Max.

    I do not doubt that my performance led to some conversation. :)

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  13. First of all - Hi-Larry-Ous - I laughed right out loud (at your embarrassment - oh crap I did it again - I'm sorry).

    B - I would love to be in Tampa for all the pirate doings - sounds like a grand time - maybe we should save our pennies and go sometime

    3rd of all - Keep up the good work - all the way around.

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  14. crazy4coens-- No apology required! That's why I posted it... if I cannot laugh at myself, I have zero right to laugh at others and I really like laughing at others.

    Besides... I remember you.. you laughed at my mom when she fell down the stairs at The JAcksonville Hotel that night! I knew full well you would laugh at me. It was funny! On both counts.

    Oooh I want to go to Gasparilla! Yes. Let's save those pennies and go... leave family behind and be us for a tiny while. :)

    Thanks!

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  15. snort!

    That is really too funny. But maybe if you never have those moments of embarrassment, you aren't living with enough enthusiasm?

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  16. secret agent woman-- I am sure that you are right about that. Everyone does need to bust loose on occasion.

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  17. Ananda - I remember being horrified at your mother falling down that huge mountain of stairs. If I laughed at that, I will laugh at anything. (Oh yeah, I laughed at my wedding - I guess I will laugh at anything - yikes!)

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  18. crazy4coens-- You laughed when my dance partner fell into the gutter and passed out that night... and I did too! Especially when his friends just stepped over him and wandered away.

    We both laugh at anything. Face it.

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  19. Ananda - OM I had totally forgotten about that guy and his friends walking over him - that was one weird ass night!

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  20. Of course there was a good reason for that.....

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  21. crazy4coens-- Yes ma'am it was! Very good reason.

    Do you recall the guys who showed up magically on our balcony? Now that freaked me out.

    Nights don't get much weirder.

    Having the runs was the worst!

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  22. "You might confuse this with a float, but it's a concession stand build in the shape of a pirate ship."

    Don't let those Somali guys know about this. Or they might make the same claim about their pirate ships.

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