Note:
This blog post was far too long and disjointed, so I decided to drastically edit it. Now, it's a little shorter and even more disjointed.
In keeping with my recent Flag theme, I've posted the above photo which I took when I lived in Texas.
Well, it looks like everybody survived my previous blog post. A quick head count confirms that I haven't lost any followers. I hate the term "followers". It makes me sound like Rasputin. Or Aimee Semple McPherson.
Undoubtedly my charm and sense of humor saved me.
What charm and sense of humor, Jon?
Hey, don't try to be funny.
The rainbow flag (in my previous post) also helped. When in doubt, disarm everyone with a rainbow flag. Just don't try to fly it in Tennessee. The Baptists will shoot you.
Praise the Lord.
In Tennessee rainbow flags are best kept in the closet (no pun intended). Tennesseans can be disarmed with Confederate flags. Is "Tennesseans" spelled correctly?
None of this will make any sense unless you read my previous post. And even then, it probably won't make any sense.
Despite the bright beginning to this blog post, I'm still in a miserable, bleak, and dire mood.
It's amazing and admirable, Jon, that you can still be witty and cheerful when you're miserable, bleak, and dire.
That's nothing. You should see me on a good day.
I tried to put a temporary fix on the broken water pipes but nothing worked. The plumber can't come for a few more days, and I've been without water for nearly a week. I drove to town last Saturday to get groceries and bottled water. Water goes quickly in hot weather and I'll soon need more.
Besides having no water, I'm also still plagued with other problems. Back pain and other health issues. Multitudes of annoying insects. Endless storms. And piles of unpacked junk because there's absolutely nowhere to put anything. I gave up trying to do any more outdoor painting or yard work because of the rain.
I'm very used to inconveniences. Life has been one Big Inconvenience ever since I came here. If anything went right, the shock would kill me.
Despite all the hassles, I'd still choose Tennessee over Texas. Texas was a nightmare of endless wind, persistent drought, ruthless dust storms. Not to mention the worst people imaginable. My neighbors were drug dealers who had continuous all-night parties. Six families lived in one house, and a dozen (no exaggeration) completely unsupervised kids tortured me for years.
This is my back yard in Texas
during a typical dust storm
Here in Tennessee, I at least have peace and privacy, in a lovely rural atmosphere. Some of the people around here are gun-toting moonshiners, but - what the hell. They all go to church on Sunday.
Ouch, Jon, that hurt.
Views from my property in Tennessee
"Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."
Did I mention rain? There are storms every day. Last night the storms were horrific, with Biblical downpours and such intense lightning that it knocked the sins right out of me and sent them rolling around on the floor. A crappy analogy, but it's all I could come up with. If I was getting paid for writing this, I'd have the incentive to do better.
My three cats went into hiding during the duration of the deluge. When the storm finally subsided, Scratch emerged carrying a mouse in her mouth. The kidnapped rodent was still alive. It somehow managed to escape, and we (Scratch and I) chased it around the living room.
Having the kind soul of St. Francis of Assisi, it was my intention to capture the mouse and set it free. Scratch had other ideas.
Later, exhausted from storms and rodents, I fell asleep on the sofa. I periodically heard all the cats scurrying to catch the mouse.
Your rodent tail (tale?) is getting too long, Jon. What the heck happened?
Dawn came with a sunny smile. I went into the bedroom, wondering what happened to the mouse.
Jokingly, I said "Maybe the cats put it in my bed."
.....I swear to God, this is absolutely true......
As I was checking the covers, I happened to see a tail sticking out from under my pillow!!! Lifted the pillow.....sure enough - there was a dead mouse.
A present from one of the felines.
But which one?? Scratch, Scruffy, or Bosco?
My only consolation is that it could have been worse. I have a friend in California who told me that one of her cats left a dead BIRD in her bed!
Ah, the joys of feline ownership.
This post is too long but I have an update (it's Tuesday afternoon). Another storm is raging as I write this.
The plumber stopped by about an hour ago. He surveyed the problem and said he has to buy some things from town before he can fix it. He'll return tomorrow morning.
The poor guy was upset because his elderly father died yesterday. That made me feel extremely bad. I told him not to come, but he said he'd rather work than sit around thinking.