Wednesday, May 20, 2020


Blog #167

It was a nice day this morning, a perfect day to escape home confinement and take a walk.  I dressed and walked into the front of the house where my sweet and adoring wife greeted me with these warm and loving words: “Those shorts are too short,” was all she said.  Well, I admit they were old.  When I bought them, Pluto was still a planet.  I dutifully took them off and placed them in the pile to give away so that next year, some poor fellow in an impoverished village in Southern Sudan can wake up, put on the same shorts and hear his delightful wife say, “Where did you get those skimpy-ass shorts?” 

In addition to my lovely wife and Shakespeare, I share my home with Alexa.  We all have Alexa.  Shakespeare thinks she’s a can of tuna.  I’m sure the little tin can could have been very helpful to me had not Carol gotten a hold of this cylindrical sister and trained her how to deal with me.  Alexa now either pretends not to hear me or just ignores me completely as not capable of having a worthwhile thought.  She makes me feel right at home.

Day 59 of our sequester.  We’re doing fine.  I have my books to read and my cat to play with and my blog to write to you.  I like sitting here and writing to you.  For while I sit with Thee, I seem in Heaven (Paradise Lost).  Besides, I wouldn’t want you to be bored on Thursday mornings.  Carol is never bored. She and her girlfriends are keeping their spirits high by Zooming and talking. Those girls can certainly talk, all of them at the same time, and I don’t see them slowing down at all.  I can just imagine them, long after I’m gone, long after their physical functions have deteriorated, sitting in the Home, still gabbing up a storm.

They can’t hold their bladders or walk
They’re frail and their hair’s turned to chalk
On top of all that
They’re blind as a bat
But Man, those old girls can still talk.

Hi there and welcome back.  I hope you’re feeling well and keeping yourself safe and busy.  I said we were doing fine, but I do miss my weekly routine, like my light treatment with Dr. Skin every Monday.  I say this simply to let you know what kind of lunatic you’re dealing with here – a man who considers that standing naked with a paper bag over his head reciting The Raven is normal!  Anyway, now that you are sufficiently warned, let’s get at it.

Are any of your kids named X Æ A-12?  I didn’t think so.  That’s what Elon Musk named his kid.  It seems to be culturally de rigueur* to give your kids exotic and embarrassing monikers.  And, understandably, it seems that the strangest baby names are given by parents whose names themselves are out of a Star Wars script.  After all, X Æ A-12’s Daddy is named Elon for heaven’s sake.  Other pairs of strangely named babies and parents include Apple and Gwyneth, Blue Ivy and Beyoncé, Dream and Blac, Puma and Erykah, Zolten and Penn.  Even stranger is that Usher named his kid Usher.

Don’t they realize that these kids have to grow up with those names?  Although in their private schools with their chauffeurs and bodyguards, it shouldn’t be a problem.  I should have named my first child Moby.  Of course, if I had, my wife would have immediately named me her Ex-Husband.

Weekly Word:  De rigueur means required by etiquette or current fashion.  Of course, I know as much about fashion as President Trump knows about humility.  And, in the spirit of non-partisanship, I know as much about fashion as Joe Biden knows about – well, Joe doesn’t seem to know much about anything.

Message from Shakespeare:  Since brevity is the soul of wit, . . . I will be brief (Hamlet).  Unlike my man who drones on and on for a thousand words every week.  Give me a break.

Sequester News:
·        Walmart now has arrows to direct traffic in the aisles.  I have personally discovered, however, that there is no combination of moves which will get you to the toilet paper.
·        I have taken to wearing a mask at home, not to reduce infection, but to keep me from eating.
·        Yes, I have gained a pound or two, but I really believe it’s because I have not had a haircut in eons.  I now have so much hair on my head that, lately, some woman named Bo Peep has been following me around.
·        To be honest, when I think of most of the people out there, I wouldn’t want to get within six feet of them anyway.
·        I seem to be going to bed earlier.  Nine o’clock is the new midnight.  The older I get, the earlier it gets late.
·        Carol and I put on our masks and went grocery shopping together.  She took the right side of the store; I took the left.  When we got home and she took off her mask, I realized I had the wrong woman.

Let’s end with a joke.  Do we have time for a joke?  You’re not going anywhere, are you?  Ok, here it is.  George takes Stella to a nice restaurant to celebrate their 30th Anniversary.  During dinner, a lovely young woman comes to their table and gives George a huge hug and a sloppy kiss.  “Who was that!” says Stella with appropriate venom.  George replies that the woman was his mistress.  “What?  Your mistress?  I can’t believe it, George.  I want a divorce immediately.”  George reminds her that if they divorce, she will no longer have her Mercedes or her Country Club or her shopping sprees at Saks.  Stella is silent.  Thirty minutes later, Stella sees a neighbor, Frank, dining with another lovely young woman.  “Who is that woman with Frank,” she asks.  George tells her it’s Frank’s mistress.  She looks again, turns to George and says, “Ours is cuter.”

Good joke.  Good blog.  Goodbye.  See you next week.  Be sure to stay well and count all those blessings.  And don’t forget Memorial Day and honor our fallen women and men who gave their lives for America.

Michael                                    Send comments to:  mfox1746@gmail.com


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