A moment in the life of a cat

This is not the cat I saw, only an example of the species.

On my morning exercise walk I met a woman walking two small dogs on long leashes. I don't know what kinds of dogs they were. I am not big on identifying dogs. I don't have anything against dogs. I just don't want one and don't care to know too much about them. I will tell you each dog could double for a lady's hand muff on a snowy day.

As the woman turned onto the concrete driveway from the road I saw a white (with a bit of black) cat near the point where a walkway to the house intersected the driveway. The cat was lying on the concrete, probably enjoying the cool feel on his tummy. He eyed the woman and the dogs as they approached and was slow to rise. What does a cat think in such situations?: No worry, this is the lady who runs this house and puts out a meal for me. I am bigger than those two dogs combined so they are not a real problem. But maybe I ought to get up anyway, just in case. Never know when a dog (and there are two of them) will go off his puppy chow. I can get back down again when they pass.

And he did.

(More blogs here.)

Where's the beef (crust)?

Bergen as seen from a mountain top lookout. (Click to expand.)


Once upon a time there was a fast food commercial that was co-opted into a political tag line: "Where's the beef?"
A similar question crust could be asked about "the crust" when ordering apple pie and ice cream in Norway. On a trip recently, my friend and I ordered this dessert and each time there was no crust. We were served stewed apples and ice cream, more of an apple dessert than the pie Grandma used to bake. The apples were tasty, being properly and correctly spiced but the lack of crust left us shaking our heads. After the second experience even seniors can learn a lesson so we chose alternate desserts.

(More blogs here.)

Car Fire in our Building

As if it wasn't hot enough this afternoon we had a car fire in the (Franke at Seaside, Mt. Pleasant, SC) Trailside Apartment house garage around 2 pm. The owner had filled her gas tank earlier today, according to gossip among the evacuated residents standing out on the lawn. Speculation is that a fuel line leak dropped gasoline on the hot engine block and this ignited the blaze. The fire started under the hood. These pictures show some of the results.
In the top photo the arm of a Mt. Pleasant fire inspector can be partially seen after the fire as he examined several points to determine where the fire started. The middle photo shows how intense was the fire. Part of the front side of the car is destroyed. The interior was also affected by the hot burn. The car is obviously totaled.
I was returning to the garage within minutes of the beginning of the incident, the garage was filled with black smoke and people were evacuating the building. I backed away and parked behind an adjacent building and walked to the scene. Some residents are experiencing smoke in their apartments but this is expected to dissipate this afternoon.
The Mt. Pleasant Fire Department responded, as did several Franke at Seaside workers to help residents.
(Excerpted from my blog which can be found by clicking here.)

FBI will lie to you and then arrest you

If you are engaged in any illegal, criminal action or activity likely to attract the serious attention of the FBI, let me give you a tip: Don't come downstairs or leave your residence just because a caller says someone broke into your storage locker or your parked car has been hit in an accident. It is probably the FBI lying to you and waiting to arrest you.
On Wednesday, June 22, the FBI ran such a scam on James "Whitey" Bulger, who the Bureau had been looking for for the last fifteen years. Bulger was called on the phone and told his storage locker had been broken into. Would he come and see what was missing? Who wouldn't? When he got outside in the open he was arrested. Bulger will be tried at a later day on a variety of charges.
This old, time-worn Bureau trick was used years ago to lure the retired Navy communications Warrant Officer turned Soviet spy John Walker out of his room in a Montgomery County, Maryland, motel known to be used by prostitutes. A call was placed to Walker's room in the early morning hours and he was told his car had been hit in an accident and would he come down and check it out. Walker shuffled outside and was nabbed by the FBI. He is in the federal prison in Terra Haute, Indian, working on his life sentence.

A remembrance - Charles Archibald

My brother Charlie (on the right) died on May 22, 2011, while I was on a trip overseas. He was the youngest of five children in our family and had battled throat cancer for about two years. I found it very difficult to talk with him on the phone a few weeks earlier. It seemed so heartless to talk about how good my life was to someone who I knew was facing the end of his life. Instead, I wrote him a loving e-mail remembering some of the special events in our lives and how he was a favorite of my late wife, Mary (Died - December 29, 2010). After my e-mail he called me from the hospital and we were able to talk on the phone. I reminded Charlie we came from poor and humble circumstances, but it was not how you started but how you ended up. By that standard Charlie did OK. My two oldest sons went to Massachusetts and represented my wing of the family at the graveside services. Charlie was a quixotic personality in many ways but he will be missed when the family gathers and reminisces.