Month: February 2012

The other day I said, as I often have, “what do folks do for laughs if they don’t have cats???”. That is not a put-down of dogs. I grew up with dogs, started living with cats when I was in my late 20’s, been living with them ever since. We did have two cats and a dog for a while in the mid-90’s but we had to leave her behind when we moved to Virginia.

I think dogs are universally sweet creatures, and if they aren’t it’s the fault of whatever humans they came in contact with. Dogs are just so doofy, and goofy. They are not sophisticated creatures and they will do anything for food. They are loyal to a fault and trust too much for their own good. There aren’t any bad dogs, just bad humans. At least that’s how I see it.

Ah, but cats – different story. I have met many dumb dogs but very few dumb cats. That said, my orange BB cat is just about the dumbest cat I have ever met – but he is also incredibly mellow and a total cuddle bunny, velcro kitty. Now Miss Frankie Lulu Belle – well, almost any cat would pale in comparison to her – truly. She is too damn smart for her own good, and with that gorgeous face – well, people fall all over her. We had them at the vet at the same time and they fussed and cooed over Frankie and then fell all over themselves saying “Oh, BB is a nice cat too”.

I always laugh when people say they don’t like cats because they are independent – Ha! There is less maintenance with cats – no going out in all kinds of weather to meet basic needs like dogs – but truly cats train US far more than we train them. We do their bidding – and they demand human interaction. Aloof??? Really?? Nah – While Frankie hates being picked up, she insists on being attached to a human at all times. Right now she is a little annoyed because she can’t lie on my arm as I type – so she is 3 inches away – napping while sitting up…BB is downstairs sitting on the back of my husband’s recliner while he works. These guys are never far from us – and it’s because they prefer it that way. They hate being alone – and by alone I mean with no humans around. Independent/aloof – Not on a bet.

And yet, as sweet and loving as dogs are, and as goofy and doofy as dogs are, and as loyal as dogs are, they just aren’t as naturally funny as cats!

But if you want a cat that is very much like a dog – get a Siamese. They are super smart, very protective of their home, very protective of their human, physically beautiful, but you know, I have had several Siamese kitties and their just not as funny as my shelter kitty “mutts”.

Or maybe I am just a tiny bit prejudiced toward my “children”…(and I just got up from desk to open the blinds because Frankie was sitting on the couch rattling the blinds because she wanted to look out).

Dogs, cats, rabbits, gerbils, chickens, iguanas – who ever shares your life and makes you smile…It’s all good!

If you want to laugh your ass off I strongly suggest reading the Style/Food/Home/Fashion sections of the New York Times. These sections are basically the print version of “Life Styles of the Rich and Famous”. I’m not too sure if any of us normal folks relate.

Today’s evidence: Wednesday is “Dining” day and I swear even back in the days when I cooked, never in my life have I ever cut out a recipe from the Times. Never. Hell, most of the time I gag at the thought of eating some of the recipes, much less cooking them. In today’s paper we have An Indian Curry Close to Home. My favorite part of this is the second sentence “With only a few ingredients you most likely have on hand…” They are so kidding me with this. And yet I’m sure many, many folks always have fresh ginger, cumin seeds, coriander seeds and black mustard seeds (and we should all get into the habit of toasting and grinding our own spices), mint, cilantro and chives hanging around. And let’s not count the ghee. What the hell??? I’m sure that are some folks out there, one of us nice normal folks, who do actually cook like this on a regular basis, and even toast and grind their own spices. Well, God bless you – where do you find the time ? Or the ingredients. Just Askin’

Then we have a lady who cannot possibly be a native New Yorker because she calls shopping carts “granny carts” There’s A Younger Hand on the Granny Cart. New York is a walking city – and shopping carts are how we get our stuff from here to there. Even tho my father had a car we also had a shopping cart because sometimes you had to get a bunch a stuff from the grocery store and it was going to be too heavy to schlep 6 or 8 blocks. When I got my first apartment the laundry room was in the basement and while there was an elevator it was just easier to put the laundry in the shopping cart and take it downstairs that way.

I never owned a car, or drove, for the 44 years I lived in NYC – how in hell does this woman think we got our groceries home? Shopping carts were (are) a way of life in New York and other cities (including where I live now). You trying schlepping 20 pounds of kitty litter home from the store without one. Granny cart my ass – been using one since I was a kid, still use one, will always use one because I’m smart, because I am a native New Yorker and because everybody in NYC uses them and because I don’t give a rat’s ass what other people think.

Okay – that’s the rant of the day. Over and out…