I can thank my cat Bosco for ruining my computer and making it EXTREMELY difficult for me to type.
Let's preface this by saying that Bosco is usually a very good cat - gentle and timid. He used to lay near my laptop and watch me type for hours.
Then - suddenly - for no apparent reason, he got the idea that it's great fun to sit ON the keyboard. Any time he's near the laptop he immediately goes for the keyboard. I've already written about the time his ample ass turned on the Airplane Mode. His ass has done other strange things to my computer, too, but I won't bother to astonish you with details.
Yesterday, while I was typing, Bosco made a lightning-quick Nijinsky leap onto the keyboard. A struggle ensued (between he and I) during which his paw got caught on the "i" key and ripped it off.
Despite all the key reattachment articles I've read on the Internet - - it is IMPOSSIBLE to reattach a computer key, especially if the internal mechanism is broken. It was suggested to detach another key (preferably one you don't use) and use that mechanism to repair the broken one. I tried that last night. I got the "i" key to work, but I spent several AGONIZING hours with a tweezer and a safely pin trying to fix the frickin' inner pop-up mechanism. It would have been simpler trying to reattach a severed carotid artery.
The parts are microscopically small, incredibly fragile, and don't fit properly. I know exactly how it's supposed to go, but it doesn't stay secure. The key cap keeps falling off. Eventually I lost my patience and went completely berserk. And I mean COMPLETELY. Don't try to visualize this - - it's too ugly.
The result is that I've lost my enthusiasm for typing. With no key cap it now takes me ten times as long to type anything and I constantly make mistakes. I'm not in the mood to spend the rest of my life trying to repair the damn thing.
Thanks, Bosco.
Change of subject
Since I seldom pay attention to the news, I hadn't heard that actress Maureen O'Hara died until I read it on John's blog Going Gently.
She was 95 and lived a heckuva good life.
The news has special meaning to me because I met her long ago - - in fact, I saw her on two different occasions (I wrote about it on my old blog Lone Star Concerto).
The first time I saw Maureen O'Hara was when I was nineteen. I'm not in the mood to rehash the details here, but she, John Wayne, and his family were attending a late-night event in the private banquet room at Knott's Berry Farm. That's when John Wayne's daughter Aissa flirted with me (I'm not kidding - but, heck, she was only a young teen then).
The second time I encountered Maureen O'Hara was a few years later at a cocktail party in Newport Beach (That's where John Wayne lived). O'Hara was there with Wayne and his wife Pilar Pallete.
Maureen O'Hara was as beautiful in person as she was in her films. I remember that she was wearing a green silk dress. She was a feisty, energetic person, but was also kind and gracious - with a lot of class.
John Wayne, as usual, was soused and gruff. He and Maureen O'Hara made five films together and were very close friends. I honestly never understood what she saw in him, but their mutual attraction was intense and they had great chemistry on-screen and off.
I've heard potent rumors that Wayne and O'Hara had an affair before he married Pilar, and I believe that it's true.The main thing that kept them from having a serious long-term relationship is that Wayne was dominant and liked to control his women - and O'Hara was fiercely independent.
At the time that I met Maureen O'Hara I was only familiar with a few of her films, such as Jamaica Inn, Miracle on 34th Street, and The Parent Trap. I didn't see her films with John Wayne until later.
O'Hara was a fascinating woman and a Hollywood icon and I'm glad I had the opportunity of meeting her.
http://cabinetofcurioustreasures.blogspot.com
luck you to meet such a beautiful woman. john wayne was a pig.
ReplyDeleteawww, poor bosco. use the "l" key for an "i"?
I trust Bosco is feeling proud of his 'handiwork', the little scoundrel! Mine keep trying to walk over the keyboard (as though I didn't have enough computer problems already!) rather than settle on it. But it must be infuriating to have one key go kaput - and I can well understand your want of enthusiasm to proceed. But do keep on at it. It won't be wasted, despite B's best efforts to sabotage.
ReplyDeleteHave to admit that I'm more familiar with Maureen O'Hara's name than with any of her films, though it's difficult to envisage many people topping your meeting with the lady. I certainly couldn't.
Sounds like Bosco caused you a lot of frustration but isn't that what cats are for?
ReplyDeleteToo bad Bosco wrecked your "I" key. When writing memoirs that key is important. Authors of the best autobiographies all included themselves as characters.
ReplyDeleteIt hurts my teeth, imagining you doing surgery with a tweezer and safety pin.... while the rest of us slept. Nevertheless, I'm glad it was merely the 'i' key and not a part of Bosco's paw that ripped off. I hope he's (somewhat) remorseful?
ReplyDeleteYa, Ms. O'Hara was one of the classy ones. What a thrill to have met the lady!
Jon,
ReplyDeleteYour mishap with Bosco is what I fear when and if I get a cat. Having them jump all over the place, knocking over vases and irreplaceable figurines. My friend Larry (the poet) has cats and they too like to walk on his keyboard occasionally touching his function keys. Larry loves his cats but sometimes he goes to his computer at he has a strange screen or no screen at all. He knows that one of this cats has been walking on his keyboard again.
Maureen O'Hara, one of my all time favorite actresses. I just finished a wonderful biography of John Wayne. Maureen is mentioned a lot (of course) as is his favorite daughter, Aissa. What a small world knowing that Aissa flirted with you! Have you read this biography of John Wayne? If not, I'll send it too you. By the way, I'll always remember Maureen from her role in a pirate film. I think that was the first time I saw her in a film. Maybe it was "Jamaica Inn." What I remember is her fiery personality and her red, red hair. She was fabulous! I've often thought she was underused in films.
Ron
Maureen O'Hara was one of my favorite actresses of all-time, and I LOVE "The Quiet Man" and "McClintock." Very cool that you got to meet her in person.
ReplyDeleteYour sad saga of the keyboard woes is the reason we kinda have a computer parts cemetery. If there's a problem with one keyboard or monitor, whatever, it's a quick change-out, and we're good to go. With my keyboards, I have a tendency to flat-put wear off the letters on the keyboard, which doesn't really bother me. But when my hunt-and-peck two-finger typing husband has cause to use my computer, he freaks out over it and HAS to change the board "for me." :)
O'Hara is also great as John Candy's mother in the rom com Only the Lonely.
ReplyDeleteIt takes a willingness to play with fire, but I have "fixed" a dislodged key with a VERY SMALL drop of crazy glue. Get out your magnifying glass and ascertain where the key actually touches the keyboard. It is important to only apply the glue to the key, and then quickly apply it to the keyboard. Forceps or needle nose pliers can be useful. Practice the maneuver (sans glue) until you are comfortable with doing it quickly. Best of luck! ~~ NB
Desperation will inspire me to do anything. Thanks for the tip. I'll try it.
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