Friday, November 2, 2007

You Can Stare Up the Steps, or You Can Step Up the Stairs.

As I continue my journey of self discovery my therapist Cuddles Bullough suggested I incorporate daily affirmations into my morning ablutions. Of course I turned to FranklinCovey those cunning people in Salt Lake City who have made a nice living out of inspiring people to be slightly above average for more than 20 years. Their daily quotes have lead me down a fresh new path of platitudes; sayings that, I can only hope, will shift my paradigms and in the transcendent words of Celine Dion create a "New Dawn, a New Day" of possibility.



My friend Buster Marie Fur-Face, who because of a birth defect has always struggled with her self image
has shared with me (confidentially) that if it hadn't been for the people at FranklinCovey she would still be slightly below average. I don't think you can have a more ringing endorsement than that.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

My Little Birthday


Just had my fifth birthday with 72 of my closest and most intimate friends. We had Fancy Feast in all the flavors, for desert my favorite, clam ice cream with tuna chunks, and catnip in abundance. Marci Purr and Mittens played ping pong. If you click on the image you'll see Mittens masterful control of the paddle.



We all sang "How Much Is That Doggie In the Window" and then we'd laugh and laugh. My dear friend Snowflake provided more music by playing her favorite song, "In the Ghetto". Normally I don't care for the harmonica but she so wanted to contribute to the festivities. Puff Puff Tapscott played the piano and I snapped a picture of her singing "Laughter in the Rain." Puff Puff's a real talent!

Cuddles Bullough - My Therapists Story

Cuddles Bullough was a rather trashy looking wiener dog who lived on Bon View Drive. Growing up had been tough. Her mother could never hold a job, was always drinking out of the toilet and even though she had no idea who Cuddles's father was, she lied and told her he left them for Hollywood taking a job as Stevie Wonder's seeing-eye dog. Abandoned and valueless with a moral compass pointed straight to hell, Cuddles fell into promiscuity. Known as the "Bitch of Bon View Drive" she gave birth to seven or eight litters that ravaged her low-slung body to the point her teats dragged on the ground when she walked.

She had other addictions beside sex; going through the garbage cans late at night with Bubbles Wallace and Kevin the French Poodle from the bottom of the street, yapping at the mailman, and spelling out profanities on the neighbor's lawn with spots of dead grass created through carefully calculated bladder control. Using a thesaurus she could carry in her mouth she and Bubbles had created a virtual crossword puzzle of profanities on the block.


They'd chased cats, the three of them, Cuddles behind the wheel in her Chrysler Sebring screeching around corners and honking the horn at all hours. While stopped for gas one night she was jumped by Wootsy Woodbury the Abyssinian who lived on Ash Circle. Wootsy scratched her so severely she had to go to the vet for stitches, antibiotics and the worst of all, a bath.

Hard living eventually caught up with Cuddles. She woke up one more morning in the alley behind IHOP, pregnant again, garbage strewn everywhere, half a pancake still in her mouth and decided that was it. She needed help. After getting into a twelve-step program for sexual addiction offered by the Humane Society and finally convincing the people she lived with to get her fixed, she had emerged, tattered and worn looking, but with new insights into the conditions and battles that everyone struggles to win. Like so many who emerge from the "dark walk" as she phrased it, Cuddles went to work helping others. She began as a volunteer at the resident facility that treated her sexual addiction. Her first group, "Lick the Self-Licking" was such a big success they asked her to facilitate other groups including, "Loosing your Fear of the Vet" and "Taking Heartworms to Heart". It wasn't too long before she was in private practice and helping dogs and cats all over the valley.

This was the time I started my own therapy, I had decided my journey of self discovery must begin and the only way to move forward was one paw after the other.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Alfred Newspickle Has A Question


Poor Alfred, half here, half somewhere else. During his lucid moments I find him so endearing. I'm posting his latest e-mail because it is his one connection to the outside world. I should disclaim that the Susan Lucci he's refering to below is the name of his departed pet hog. She was almost 400 pounds, but she had such a nice singing voice that no one mentioned her weight.

Dear Mrs. Boil—
I must confess that I’ve been off having lunch with Susan Lucci today and the courtesy title Mrs., used prior to a married woman’s surname, emerged out of nowhere as our topic of discussion. I found that it is a subject of great concern regarding your use of the word given that no one knows if you were ever married and furthermore no one among Susan’s circles daresn’t bring it up least a great offense might be taken (on your part dear, of course). Well, I just told her I had no hesitation whatsoever asking you such a question, given how close we are and all, and I marched out of the Silver Spoon Café and pulled my 1972 Vega into the parking lot of the nearest internet café. That’s what I did I tell you and that brings me to this letter that I am now typing. (The “help” here keeps pestering me with requests to bring me a Cup-o-Jo. Can’t they tell from looking at me, hair and all, that I daresn’t—my word of the week, which isn’t a real word but anyways—take such a substance into my nervous-laden-over-stimulated-body? Well, I’d be up for weeks, even months if it happened during one of my manic phases. We won’t even get into what it would do during one of my depressive episodes as that is a story for another day. Do I really have to sip caffeine in order to use their computers? As if I don’t have my own laptop. Don’t these servers know they are a must have household item these days? Honestly.) Could you kindly respond to me so that I can clear the potential damaging confusion lest your image among the Lucci-ites become tarnished? Should the Mrs. be a clever acronym for My Raccoon Sisters you can tell me and I promise not to laugh, although I always enjoy a good laugh. We can always carefully craft a message back to Lucci that will not be damaging or embarrassing. In fact, might I recommend that we just tell her that you were married and that the particulars are none of her darn business? On second thought that might cause more gossip and chaos amongst these folks. Let’s just get it out and make a full disclosure MRS. Boil or whoever you are. I’m really starting to get irritated with you here. Well, I’m off to have lunch at the Silver Spur in France with one of my oldest and dearest friends. (It’s really Francis, Utah but don’t you think France sounds much better than telling others you are having lunch at a bar up near Kamas? I do. Image is everything now you know.) I’ll be waiting.

Sincerely yours,

Mr. Alfred Newspickle

Friday, April 13, 2007

Cat Haiku

Snowflake, my close personal friend and confidante has put aside the harmonica and turned to poetry. She's begining with a number of Haiku's that I found enchanting and penetrating, capturing the many dramas that fill the days.



The rule for today:
Touch my tail, I shred your hand.
New rule tomorrow.

In deep sleep hear sound
cat vomit hairball somewhere
will find in morning.

Grace personified.
I leap into the window.
I meant to do that.

Blur of motion, then --
silence, me, a paper bag.
What is so funny?

The mighty hunter
Returns with gifts of plump birds --
your foot just squashed one.

You're always typing.
Well, let's see you ignore my
sitting on your hands.

My small cardboard box.
You cannot see me if I
can just hide my head.

Terrible battle.
I fought for hours. Come and see!
What's a 'term paper?'

Small brave carnivores
Kill pine cones and mosquitoes,
Fear vacuum cleaner

I want to be close
to you. Can I fit my head
inside your armpit?

Wanna go outside.
Oh, poop! Help! I got outside!
Let me back inside!

Oh no! Big One
has been trapped by newspaper!
Cat to the rescue!

Humans are so strange.
Mine lies still in bed, then screams;
My claws are not that sharp.


Friday, March 30, 2007

Alfred Newspickle Writes


My dear, dear friend Alfred Newspickle whom I lost track of after he was institutionalized has suddenly turned up and contacted me. He was such a delight despite his tenuous grasp on reality. I thought I'd share his correspondence, such an upbeat happy fellow.

Dear Mrs. Boil--Love your blogg. It's so good to hear from you coming back from the dead and all. I thought those darn raccoons, LouDean and LouJean, had gone off and eaten you right up. Thank goodness for that séance, conducted by Algie Anderson--your former landlord, or else we would have completely lost touch with you. I think she only held it to see if she could collect on those bounced checks you wrote. BTW: Do they have money over on that side? Anyways (which isn't a word, but I like to say it anywayS) I do like your writing style. You always did have a way with words being a designer and all. Perhaps I will ask you to be my columnist sub one week when I'm out of the country promoting my new book, How to Bee a Columnist in the Summit County Bee--and Like It. We'll be in touch.

Sincerely,
Alfred Newspickle

Friday, February 16, 2007

The Days of '47 Float

I only agreed to be on the float committee after Marci Purr asked me. She said I had been ignoring her, a manifestation of some type of misplaced judgment about her "relationship" with Tucker Wagtail a Golden Retriever who attended the singles ward in the next Stake.
The Days of 47 Parade was only five months away and our Stake had never entered a float before. Marci recommended me to the committee based on my extensive work as a designer. My work focuses primarily on custom made scratching posts, unique shapes and scratching materials designed to accent almost any decor, really no float experience at all, but I accepted as a favor to Marci who was in charge of the budget. The float money came from donations by Stake members, plus a few fund raisers like the dog wash in the church parking lot held by the Deacons Quorum. That created quite a rift between Tucker Wagtail and Marci. The implication that dogs need washing is just projection onto the canine world of the western cultures bathing obsession.

It was easy to see why a cat like Marci would be attracted to a dog like Tucker. Personally I think Tucker's relationship with Marci is just a liberal affectation. Dating outside his species was just his way of slapping his parents in the face. They couldn't even handle seeing him date someone outside his own breed. His former girl friend was a dachshund from Park City. Tucker's mother always referred to her as "that wiener dog."

Brother Richards the float committee head, a retired orthodontist from Pocatello had hoped I'd be able to sketch the design concepts, but I told him I worked best as a creative visionary, a catalyst to the design process. I didn't mention that without thumbs I couldn't hold onto a pencil.
The parade theme was "Pioneer Courage". Brother Richards suggested a fact-finding trip to Pasadena to consult with the Rose Parade folks, "learn all their tricks and secrets maybe get some killer deals on chicken wire and tinsel". Marci had several arguments with him over the budget strains caused by such a trip, and her conscience recently raised, shared a few choice words with him when he suggested another dog wash. She finally had to turn to Bishop Florsheim to mediate, but not before she had Tucker chase Brother Richards car after Sacrament meeting.

Brother Richards big idea was an elephant. "Let's have the elephant sitting at a computer reading his genealogy chart!" He'd have one leg lifted up in the air and underneath his foot would be a little mouse in a tiny Conestoga wagon also doing his genealogy. It all felt very Disney to me and I pointed out to Brother Richards that there wasn't a pioneer in site let alone a courageous pioneer. Faith Despain, one of the seminary teachers at the high school wondered if we were weren't moving into shaky theological terrain. She said if every animal had to trace their genealogy back to Adam, the millennium would never get here. Gretchen Knickers the only Shetland pony on the committee resigned with a snort. "Horses made their way across the plains; doing most of the work I might remind you. My great, great , great uncle was ridden by Porter Rockwell himself through most of Nebraska and I'd bet you a sugar cube they didn't run into any elephants."

Perhaps it was seeing Gretchen Knickers headed for the exit, her little hooves skittering across the cultural hall hardwood, but it was at this point I lost my enthusiasm. Fortunately for me I'm a quitter. I've never seen any virtue in persisting in something that was unpleasant or hard, no matter the goal. I still have friends who'll sit in front of an aquarium pawing at the fish for days at a time thinking eventually they'll figure it out. I'm pleased to say, that's not me.

Monday, February 12, 2007

Mrs. Boil Accepts a Calling


My earliest religious activity was my job as the choir director at the Mormon church down the block. It was my effort to be of service, to give back. My day job, which paid, was working as an operator at the phone company. When I tried to join the choir, my singing voice created consternation amongst the brethren. "Like a hinge" was the Bishop's description. So instead he called me as the choir director - "those who can, do - those who can't, teach". I accepted the calling on the condition "How Great Thou Art" was excluded from the repertoire. Elvis Presley ruined that song for me.

I liked to wear my mink vest to church when the choir was performing since I'd be at the front of the chapel, on the stand where everyone would see me. Marci Purr my best friend at the time (we lost touch when she became a Jehovah's Witness) thought the mink vest was excessive and she was against wearing fur, which was ironic her being a cat. Friends with low self-esteem can be so exhausting.

When leading the choir I liked to face the congregation. It allowed the choir to see my tail much better, which I used to keep tempo. Waving a baton is hard when you don't have opposable thumbs. Sister Purr said the way my tail flicked around it looked like I was very irritated. Sister Purr didn't support my calling. I knew she was very self-conscious of her singing voice (she'd had a shoe thrown at her one night when she was humming on her back porch) but she wouldn't even indulge me at least by moving her lips. She'd just sit there and stare with that stare only a cat can pull off.