hodgepodge

Woke up this morning to a cat fight. Even at age 16, C.K. can still screech out an impressive guttural howl. I jumped up and then checked to see if she was in the house; her bed and favorite sleeping chair in the lounge were empty. I looked outside to see if she had escaped again through the kitchen window. No C.K. The roof, I thought. As I approached the open door leading to the terrace, I saw a flash of peachy orange from my right eye, Jy.'s acrobatic tabby, scurry across the terra cotta tiles, C.K. in pursuit. C.K. ran to the edge and peered over the side; the other cat had jumped down onto the Herb Thief's porch and gotten away. For half a second C.K. looked as though she would follow, but she then turned to me with an "I just can't be asked" expression and assumed her well-practiced diva pose. I love my cat. My eye is healing pretty quickly. It has been a challenge coordinating clothes and accessories with a black eye. :-) Actually, it's only purply red on my eyelid now; the area surrounding my eye has turned that oh so attractive greenish yellow that all bruises eventually fade into. Big Jim makes an icepack every night for me before I go to bed, which is very kind. The lump above my eye has gone down, although it is still painful to touch and my ability to raise my eyebrows and roll my eyes when Big Jim tells a bad joke is temporarily impeded. Remember, kids, leave fireworks to the professionals. :-) I saw a tee shirt on the Internet last week that I might buy for Big Jim in an attempt to cheer him up. It was based on the slogan popular when I was a child---"My parents went to the Bahamas and all I got was this lousy tee shirt," except this one read, "My IT job went to India and all I got was this lousy tee shirt." I found it very funny, and I thought it might help Big Jim get through August, which we are expecting to be a quiet month job call-wise because most of Europe shuts down for vacation. I received a surprise phone call from my brother Tuesday evening. It was really nice to chat with him. We hadn't spoken for a long time; he's a chef living on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and with his crazy schedule and the time difference, it's difficult to find us both at home and awake at the same time. We talked for almost two hours, catching up, etc., etc. Eventually the subject of politics came up.... I have registered with a party, although it would be my preference to be an Independent. However, because of Pennsylvania's primary election rules, I have chosen a party because I am unwilling to give up 50% of my voting privilege. In the past I have voted for Democrat, Republican, Green, and Consumer Party candidates; when none of the people up for vote have impressed me, I have written in my preferred choice. I believe it's most important to research candidates---for incumbents, check their voting records! So many people just vote their party line without a clue as to what the candidate truly represents. In this day in age, when Republicans are disguised as Democrats and vice versa, it is critical that we do our homework and vote in our and our family's best interests, irrespective of party affiliations.  There was an editorial written by Ann Coulter, a conservative pundit, pulled from USA Today earlier this week. I recommend people go to her web site (www.anncoulter.org) and read the piece in its entirety from the archives (July 26, "Put the Speakers in a Cage"). As a believer in free press, I am disappointed that USA Today rejected the article. Given its divisive nature, however, I can understand their motivation. She is reporting from the Democratic convention in Boston, and her lead line was: "Here at the Spawn of Satan convention in Boston...". She then goes on to describe women attending the convention as "...corn-fed, no make-up, natural fiber, no-bra needing, sandal-wearing, hirsute, somewhat fragrant hippie chick pie wagons they call "women" at the Democratic National Convention." This crappy, unoriginal namecalling has gone on for years, and it makes me weary. She then takes a shot at the NEA: "I love bureaucrats at the National Endowment of the Arts funding crucifixes submerged in urine so much -- I think they should go home." This line struck me as strange because she no doubt is referring to Andre Serrano's "Piss Christ" series. I had the opportunity to meet Mr. Serrano at the height of the scandal when he came to speak at my university. I am now 36 years old; do the math. This controversy occurred in 1989, during Bush 41's presidency. For as bright as Ms. Coulter purports to be, I'm surprised she couldn't cite a more timely example. Perhaps USA Today didn't run the article because it was just poor journalism.... No more politics for awhile, I promise. :-) Tomorrow, my tortilla recipe.   hasta luego, mylifeinspain