POST-XMAS-POST

Christmas came and went and I bought cheap Christmas cards at Wal-Mart, along with many other little things that help me save a little money, and as I shop there I make sure I don't dwell on the lousy things that corporation purportedly does to its employees. That's conscious ignorance like the rest of the shoppers. The truly bad thing is this truly agonizing layer of ennui that falls like grimy snow between the holidays. Now it's almost New Year's, many changes are coming, some are already here, and the only President I've ever met died.

I shook Pres. Gerald Ford's hand when I ran into him at a photo studio in Century City more than 25 years ago. Since then I've rubbed shoulders with other celebrities and a few politicos, but there was a magic energy with Jerry. Of all the many things that have been said about him and his life since his death, NO ONE has mentioned that this man of high integrity called for a congressional UFO investigation in the wake of the sightings in the state he watched over as senator. The state was Michigan.

I'm a bad girl. You may not see another posting here for ages, and ages. Or ever! Don't let that dissuade you from keeping in touch, however.

GUILTY AS HELL
I haven't posted for WELL over a month. Less and less to say! What's going on? Am I losing it? Or is IT losting me? Never had IT to begin with.

Lack of ambition. Lack of concentration. Lack of money. Lack of critical edge. But I do have Don, a refrigerator with some guacamole, whipped vanilla yogurt and Mocha Mix staying just cool enough, and of course my dear Buckwheat. He's WAY cool. Here's what I'd like to put on this year's Christmas card:
Cropping out the hands and dirty pillows, of course.

SWEET SWIMMERS

How can you resist this face -- these faces?

For Buckwheat's Place's first charitable entry, I've chosen to relay the information in a dog-eared piece of paper that's been hanging around my desk for months. Someone sent it to me. Everyone should know about the

SAVE THE MANATEE CLUB

Careless Floridian boaters -- not to mention ocean pollution -- have endangered the lives of these big, sweet-faced, innocent aquatic animals. Over 1,200 have been killed since record keeping began in 1974.

I'm not some teary-eyed radical with more compassion for animals than humans. No, wait; maybe I am! The planet's animal kingdom is helpless in the face of human incursions on the environment, and manatees are one species feeling this most acutely.

You can join Save the Manatee's Club's Adopt-A-Manatee program for only $25 annual membership. Many bonuses come with the membership, including a photo and the adoption papers of your own manatee!
You just can't say no when the lives and well-being of these rotund darlings are at stake. Contact the Club at www.savethemanatee.org or call (800) 432-JOIN (5646).
Some adorable--if zaftig--manatee is relying on you!

THE WAR OF 2006

It’s a toss-up: Who in the Middle East
Deserves the title “Intransigent Beast?
Twixt Israel and heedless Hezbollah,
Upon that `rabbi or that mad mullah,
Don’t place your bets until you know which one
Can aim and then unleash the biggest gun.
Katyushas, now, can only go so far
And in the fight might only rank sub-par:
Blasts are short, their landing places random
Compared to missiles with their stages tandem.
But bad Iran now lends Silkworm support
To target ships far from the Hebrew port.
Hezbollah’s aim has sharpened, too, looks like,
Katyushas deadlier with every strike.
So America steps up to the plate
To seal, we hope, Hezbollah’s final fate
By giving Israel some bombs with lasers.
(They’ll have to do until the world has phasers!)
But will this battle solve the basic glitch?
It’s not a fight between the poor and rich,
It doesn’t pit the dumb against the smart,
It’s more a test to see who’s right at heart.
Israel stands up to fearsome neighbors
Its valid “right to be” it still belabors
While fascists touting Islam’s “peaceful” way
Should kill the infidels and seize the day.
Not only that. Hezbollah and the rest
Would like to crush the values of the West
Until all Jews and Christians disappear
And Earth is ruled by politics of fear.

In my opinion, intransigency
Might very well turn out to hold the key
To freedom’s preservation on the earth,
Each nation-state revealing its true worth.
We’re calling on our allies, even France
To recognize this war give us the chance
To place decisive blows against the Beast
Who’s really f***ing up the Middle East.
It is our world at risk, make no mistake:
It is a job we all must undertake.
Simplistic though this rhyming rant may be
Don’t counter terror with apology
Don’t support the idiots who rate
Fighting back as “disproportionate.”
Remember, kids, the job will not be done
Until the Western world has finally won.

POST-PYONGYANG MISSILE MISS MESS


The many quirks of crazy Kim Jong Il
May seem to be a very bitter pill.
He tries to quell his country’s desperation
With taunts and threats aimed at our stronger nation.
He thinks he’ll scare our democratic throngs
With reckless launches of those taepodongs.
Annoying, yes, but Kim’s a plain whack job
At whom some bigger missiles we can lob.
And if we do, you can be sure that Kim
Will find his future looking pretty dim.
Actually, we’ll try diplomacy
To force this creep into some normalcy.
But who can reason with a boastful talker
Whom all agree is clearly off his rocker?
His missiles cannot seem to reach their mark;
Perhaps his bite’s not quite up to his bark.
What are the chances that this little puke
Will top his taepo with a lethal nuke?
Will North Korea gain the expertise
To bring our greater nation to its knees?
Will China and/or Russia get a grip
And then the power balance rightly tip?
Or will China and Korea carry on
Then gang up to exterminate Taiwan?
Seems Russia’d rather sell guns and sit back
Than help us read ol’ Kim the riot act.
For its part, the U.N. still has clout
If only all the communists get out!
It's just another crisis to outwait,
To count upon men's wisdom and good fate,
To pray to God Kim's missile plans will flop
So once again the good guys land on top.
And if they don't, the world will always wish
That Kim Jong Il had eaten poison fish.

(I could write more couplets but I'd better stop.)

PIC OF THE DAY
This little gem was plucked off a fractal site and I found it oddly charming, even comforting. So I decided to post it here. My one and only complaint would be the colors.

APHIDS AND GLOPHIDS

The little prickles are almost healed and you wouldn't wanna see them anyway. Trying to make the aesthetic most of our arid backyard, I planted a cactus several years ago and the awesome creature is taking over!
I agree that it's quite a beautiful specimen of desert life, but often I see stray pieces of tissue or Buckwheat's ball in between the -- whatever those cactus branches are called! So last week I foolishly stick my arm between the "branches" to fetch a piece of tissue, and those skinny prickly things -- called glophids -- I swear jumped on my arm. They harmlesslessly make their way into the body eventually, but before that they incite a rash the likes of which can only compare to poison oak. Fortunately there is no itching!

Gardening experience # 2: We have a fragrant rose bush on the north side of the house. It's apparently healthy, even fighting for sunshine with an encroaching tree, but come spring the aphids are dotting the poor baby. So I had spray! And I sprayed them good. We have big flying things in the bedroom at night and yesterday Don killed a black widow in the bathroom.

Wild! I love it.