The Cat and the Fiddle

     The powers that be at NaBloPoMo ask today “What was the first poem you ever memorized?”  That is a very good question and I am not sure of the answer.  I loved nursery rhymes when I was little and spent hours pouring over all the glossy pages of the first volume of the Childcraft encyclopedia books.  The first volume was jam packed with wonderful nursery rhymes, poems, and stories.  I loved looking at the pictures and reading the rhymes aloud.  Because I looked at that particular volume so frequently, I memorized many of the rhymes.

      One of my all time favorites was “Hey Diddle, Diddle”.  The idea of cats with fiddles, dogs laughing, dishes running about with spoons, and a cow jumping over the moon fascinated me.  I loved the whimsical tale it told with all the participants having such a good time.  Even more I loved the pictures illustrating the rhyme in full detailed color.

   






    When my daughter was just 18 months old, I taught her to recite “Hey Diddle Diddle” to the delight of anyone who wanted to listen.  Instead of reciting it, she would sing the words and kind of wave her hands to the beat.


     

    Although many other favorite rhymes came to mind from “Humpty Dumpty” to “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”, the clear winner of the first poem my daughter and I ever memorized , is “Hey Diddle, Diddle” until next time when I give you another glimpse into the life of a trucker’s wife.

B is for Boston Terriers

       Several years back my husband surprised me with a belated birthday gift.   Considering I have been a cat lover all my life, I was shocked to discover that he had traded two CB radios for a Boston terrier puppy.  He quickly sent me pictures and I can honestly say it was love at first sight.  How could I not fall immediately in love with that sweet face?  I counted the days until the newest addition to my menagerie would finally come home to me.

       My Boston terrier puppy proved to be just as adorable in real life as he was in the pictures.   I named him Jolly because of his happy personality.  He follows me everywhere and is the perfect teddy bear at night.  Even though he snores, farts, and occasionally blows fart juice, I love him.


      Boston terriers were first recognized by the American Kennel Club in 1893.  One day an English bulldog and an English terrier got jiggy, and the next thing you know the Boston terrier breed was born.  The breed has been described as the ultimate American gentleman with a coat resembling a dressy replica of a tuxedo and tails.

      My Jolly loves to eat.  He constantly is begging for a treat.  Every time we sit down for dinner, Jolly is right there standing on his hind legs with front paws on the table waiting for his due.  He dominates the household when it comes to any kind of food.  He is the biggest dog I own, and has no remorse about throwing his weight around to lick any plates clean.  He is spoiled rotten because I can’t honestly resist that face.  If you try to ignore him, he will whine until he gets his way. 


     

      Occasionally he will pull himself up on the bed with his front paws like it is all he can do to get on the bed.  The next minute he will leap from over the entire width of my king sized bed like some fanciful unicorn.  My little Jolly is fairly laid back and will tolerate my miniature pinscher humping his head.  He gets this mortified look on his face like he is wondering why, but he will sit and endure it.  He loves everyone in the family equally, unlike the other dogs that have their definite favorite person they cuddle with.  When my husband comes home I have to lock Jolly in the garage so he can even get in the door.   Jolly becomes so hyper in his exuberance he practically blows a blood vessel in his excitement.  He jumps up and down barking and can’t wait to bathe my husband’s face and hair with his tongue.  

        Jolly even has social graces and has the decency to look mortified when he unleashes the fury and farts.   He also will shake hands, or paws in his case.  He is just the coolest dog and I can't imagine life without him!!  I can honestly say that my Jolly began a love affair with the Boston terrier breed I may never get over until next time when I give you another glimpse into the life of a trucker’s wife.

A is for Angry Birds!

       When I first got an android cell phone the sales lady told us that we had to download “Angry Birds” if we downloaded nothing else.  I thought to myself, “Ok, I will file away that tidbit for later and try it out!”  It actually was the first game we downloaded and we were not disappointed!   In the movie “101 Dalmatians”,  Roger designed video games for a living.  He had taken his video game in for an expert to try and this pint sized game Einstein informed him he had to have a better villain.  It was necessary for the success of a video game to have a villain that you desperately wanted to take out and annihilate.   It went beyond hatred.  You had to design a character that the player would take great pleasure in blowing to hell.

         I believe the reason “Angry Birds” series is so successful is because anyone and everyone gets their jollies out of dive bombing pi$$ed off birds into evil green pigs.  If you fail to take them all out, the pigs remaining laugh at you in the most sinister of ways.  I don’t know about anyone else, but that evil laugh mocking me sends me right over the edge.  I am ready to try it again.  I get so much pleasure out of killing those evil pigs!!  There are several different versions available.  All of them have basically the same story line.  The pigs show up, steal the birds eggs, the birds discover the treachery, get good and pi$$ed and plot their revenge.  The pigs are set up in each level housed in every shape and size of structure.  The idea of the game is to load your bird into a giant slingshot and shoot it into the structure to take out the pigs.  When not one slimy snickering pig is left standing, you get to move on to the next level filled with more pigs, more structures, and as the game progresses more talented birds. 

          If you psycho analyze the “Angry Birds” premise it gives the player the power and the OK to take out the enemy.  It makes revenge doable and legal. That is a mighty fine thing.  I know I have met several people in my life that I would love to hurl myself at and just beat the living $hit out of.  They have made me that mad.  Unfortunately, beating the $hit out of random a$$holes that pi$$ us off or have wronged us is frowned on in society.  You simply can’t go knock someone off their perch no matter how evil they are or how much they deserve it.  There are always repercussions.  A person learns that as early as kindergarten, and some folks learn it before that.  A person usually doesn’t get paid to be nice, but…playing nice usually pays off in the long run.  Like the evil pigs, some people in life really do deserve what they get.  For those like me that believe what goes around comes around, karma can be a beautiful thing.

      With a game like “Angry Birds” you can enjoy the thrill of taking the law into your own hands and seeking vengeance.  It is only a game, but “Angry Birds” is just satisfying in that way.  It is also addictive.  Since the first installment was released in 2009, we have learned the basics of destruction, went on to play against the backdrops of the seasons, free imprisoned birds in Rio, and now as of March 22, 2012 “Angry Birds” fans like myself can take on evil alien pigs from outer space.  It has been billed as the best physics game in the universe.  It still has the same thrill, and it is only getting better because now birds orbit and defy gravity until next time when I give you another glimpse into the life of a trucker’s wife.