Talk about your day thread

[tragabigzanda]

There is a wolf in me . . . fangs pointed for tearing gashes . . . a red tongue for raw meat . . . and the hot lapping of blood—I keep this wolf because the wilderness gave it to me and the wilderness will not let it go.

There is a fox in me . . . a silver-gray fox . . . I sniff and guess . . . I pick things out of the wind and air . . . I nose in the dark night and take sleepers and eat them and hide the feathers . . . I circle and loop and double-cross.

There is a hog in me . . . a snout and a belly . . . a machinery for eating and grunting . . . a machinery for sleeping satisfied in the sun—I got this too from the wilderness and the wilderness will not let it go.

There is a fish in me . . . I know I came from salt-blue water-gates . . . I scurried with shoals of herring . . . I blew waterspouts with porpoises . . . before land was . . . before the water went down . . . before Noah . . . before the first chapter of Genesis.

There is a baboon in me . . . clambering-clawed . . . dog-faced . . . yawping a galoot's hunger . . . hairy under the armpits . . . here are the hawk-eyed hankering men . . . here are the blonde and blue-eyed women . . . here they hide curled asleep waiting . . . ready to snarl and kill . . . ready to sing and give milk . . . waiting—I keep the baboon because the wilderness says so.

There is an eagle in me and a mockingbird . . . and the eagle flies among the Rocky Mountains of my dreams and fights among the Sierra crags of what I want . . . and the mockingbird warbles in the early forenoon before the dew is gone, warbles in the underbrush of my Chattanoogas of hope, gushes over the blue Ozark foothills of my wishes—And I got the eagle and the mockingbird from the wilderness.

O, I got a zoo, I got a menagerie, inside my ribs, under my bony head, under my red-valve heart—and I got something else: it is a man-child heart, a woman-child heart: it is a father and mother and lover: it came from God-Knows-Where: it is going to God-Knows-Where—For I am the keeper of the zoo: I say yes and no: I sing and kill and work: I am a pal of the world: I came from the wilderness.

[wease]

Pompeii was fantastic. Everyone’s favorite thing so far. Highly recommended.

[dad]

Pompeii was fantastic. Everyone’s favorite thing so far. Highly recommended.

good to hear. that's one place my wife has always wanted to go, though i'm in no rush to go back to Italy.

[dad]

People must be starting to arrive in Paris for the Olympics?

i bet some of the athletes have been there for a few weeks or more.

[wease]

Pompeii was fantastic. Everyone’s favorite thing so far. Highly recommended.

good to hear. that's one place my wife has always wanted to go, though i'm in no rush to go back to Italy.

We’re staying in Naples, about 25 min away. It’s the least “Italian” place we’ve been. Other than the traffic and smoking, of course. Nighttime brings the locals out and they’re everywhere. It’s not as bougie as all the other cities.

[VinylGuy]

People must be starting to arrive in Paris for the Olympics?

its that and the eurocup too. But mainly, this situation has been like this since 2022 because of the pandemic. i think massive layoffs and how awful the airlines operate basically has turned flying into a possible nightmare situation.

[bodysnatcher]

i'm with you VG, i do not enjoy flying anymore. would much rather just drive somewhere.

[dad]

i think it would be hard to drive from South America to Paris.

[bodysnatcher]

[Peeps]

my deck is apparently done


the contractor had the audacity to ask me for the final payment(s) today

i paid 50% down on Feb 17th of this year and they started the deck last monday. so i basically floated them a $4750 loan out of the stupidity of my heart.

told them i wont be home until 6ish and can give them a check then

[tragabigzanda]

There is a wolf in me . . . fangs pointed for tearing gashes . . . a red tongue for raw meat . . . and the hot lapping of blood—I keep this wolf because the wilderness gave it to me and the wilderness will not let it go.

There is a fox in me . . . a silver-gray fox . . . I sniff and guess . . . I pick things out of the wind and air . . . I nose in the dark night and take sleepers and eat them and hide the feathers . . . I circle and loop and double-cross.

There is a hog in me . . . a snout and a belly . . . a machinery for eating and grunting . . . a machinery for sleeping satisfied in the sun—I got this too from the wilderness and the wilderness will not let it go.

There is a fish in me . . . I know I came from salt-blue water-gates . . . I scurried with shoals of herring . . . I blew waterspouts with porpoises . . . before land was . . . before the water went down . . . before Noah . . . before the first chapter of Genesis.

There is a baboon in me . . . clambering-clawed . . . dog-faced . . . yawping a galoot's hunger . . . hairy under the armpits . . . here are the hawk-eyed hankering men . . . here are the blonde and blue-eyed women . . . here they hide curled asleep waiting . . . ready to snarl and kill . . . ready to sing and give milk . . . waiting—I keep the baboon because the wilderness says so.

There is an eagle in me and a mockingbird . . . and the eagle flies among the Rocky Mountains of my dreams and fights among the Sierra crags of what I want . . . and the mockingbird warbles in the early forenoon before the dew is gone, warbles in the underbrush of my Chattanoogas of hope, gushes over the blue Ozark foothills of my wishes—And I got the eagle and the mockingbird from the wilderness.

O, I got a zoo, I got a menagerie, inside my ribs, under my bony head, under my red-valve heart—and I got something else: it is a man-child heart, a woman-child heart: it is a father and mother and lover: it came from God-Knows-Where: it is going to God-Knows-Where—For I am the keeper of the zoo: I say yes and no: I sing and kill and work: I am a pal of the world: I came from the wilderness.

[Peeps]

my deck is apparently done


the contractor had the audacity to ask me for the final payment(s) today

i paid 50% down on Feb 17th of this year and they started the deck last monday. so i basically floated them a $4750 loan out of the stupidity of my heart.

told them i wont be home until 6ish and can give them a check then

In my experience this is common practice.

when i was dealing with the owner for the deck i was told i was one of the first ones to commit for the coming spring. the one thing i could complain about is in PA a contractor is not allowed to ask for more than 33% as a downpayment

its all water under the bridge though as long as the deck is done. will post pics later

[VinylGuy]

i'm with you VG, i do not enjoy flying anymore. would much rather just drive somewhere.

yeah, i went to Paris this year because i could go to cannes by train and if i jumped to London i could also take a train.

fuck airports!

[dad]

what a wild day. after i woke up this morning i was thinking about a couple of former coworkers from my old job. we shared office space several years ago, and still keep in touch from time-to-time. one is close to my age, and the other is about 14-15 years older and is just this wise dude, who i've always looked up to.

anyway, i was thinking about them, and how i needed to reach out to check in. i got caught up in work, and around 3ish, i got a text from the guy my age. he'd sent it to me and the older guy. it was two links. one was a news article from the local ABC affiliate about someone being shot in the arm during a road rage incident, with the shooter leaving the scene. the other link was a court filing. it was aggravated assault charges brought against someone who used to work at the same gov't agency as us...this sweet woman, who i've only ever had the most cordial interactions with. doesn't mean she's not capable of shooting someone, but i have to wonder if she did it in self-defense.

we all agreed how crazy it was and then we started catching each other up. turns out the older guy self-published a horror novel he'd started writing 20 years ago. I'm not a big horror reader, but I will definitely support him by buying a copy.

[spike]

what if it's about an oatmeal monster

[dad]

what if it's about an oatmeal monster

nothing would make me happier.

[Rangi Guy]

Went and got my flu jab today. When the lass gave me the injection she said 'Oh - that made your muscle start twitching.' It took all my willpower to not pull out the infamous

[wease]

Just got back from Normandy. 2.5 hour trips both ways. And a very full day there. It was a wonderful day. Very emotional. Highly recommended.

How are those thin pants holding up?

Wearing them for the first time here today. I’ll report back later.

Forgot to report. Thin pants were PERFECT. We have to wear them to the Vatican in a few days and it’s supposed to be close to 100 degrees. I can’t think of a better pair of pants to wear, but it’s still going to be miserable.

don't get busted taking pictures of the sistine chapel!

honestly, i don't think they do anything other than tell you to stop.

Papa Wease was indeed busted.

[wease]

Finally got to try suppli. At the airport in Naples. I have no doubts if I’d found it out and about in the cities, I would’ve like it more, but it was pretty good.

[wease]

In Athens at hotel. Beautiful. Great view of the Acropolis. Getting ready to go out and grab a late lunch.