Stop, listen, go

Again two days pass and no entries. My head is in cookielandia and I need to stop and ponder at least once a day. A moment before I left my doctor's office to look at the sky.

The Chicken Dance or The White Clam?

To whomever Steve and I announced our wedding plans the inevitable question would be,"Are you going to have a chicken dance?" What came to mind was as a child I saw our neighbor, Mrs. Norton and my father cut the heads off the chickens we raised and as the blood spurted out from their headless necks they danced in their last spasms of life. No, this was not a forced dance of a bird. I'd ask what was a Chicken Dance, and each time the person would place their hands in their arm pits and start flapping their arms, explaining it was like the Electric Glide and the Macorina. I'm not sure which image was more troubling. I was stunned the first time watching an adult in my house display such movement, speechless each time afterward.

I had not heard of a Chicken Dance and once again I felt I had fallen from a crack in the universe, perhaps a black hole and had landed in a place where everyone around me assumed I was from the same clan, yet I knew not what that culture was. Perhaps I had just missed out when I lived in California. I asked my friends there. No one had heard of it. But as I queried about, I received more information about what constitutes a chicken dance and I received numerous youtube videos demonstrating the phenomenon.

No, we did not have a chicken dance nor did we have a Chicken Dance at our wedding.

But recently I went to a pizzeria in Litchfield and found this item on the menu. It brought back all the memories of my lost cultural experiences.

Another view of Waterbury

Once again I lost another day. Could it be that many things are going on at once?

Or two on the arm is worth a picture

a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush

Solde?/Sold!

Today I was offered a price on my house and I accepted. The closing is July 15. My mind reels with all I need to do. I will miss this house and all Steve and I put into it . I look forward to start a new life.

The Monkey's Paw

One of the most memorable short stories I have read was The Monkey's Paw by W. W. Jacobs, (http://gaslight.mtroyal.ca/mnkyspaw.htm)

In it he speaks of a poor elderly couple in Britain and their son who receive a talisman that provides them with 3 wishes. The first is that they become rich. The next day a factory representative from the son's employer announces to the couple that their son has died and they are offered financial compensation for their loss. In grief one of them makes the second wish, that the son return. As they hear scraping and dragging sounds coming closer to their door, they are beside themselves in realization that their wish may bring more bad luck. The third, well, I think it's worth reading.

Monkey has become wary of my left hand. Recently he came to a conclusion that it was a threat. I don't understand why, but accept it, like plastic wrap and my iPhone that he attacks when he sees them. I keep my paw away from him while he sits on my lap. Patiently I have worked with him, showing him that it is but a part of me and loves him as much as the rest of my body. Unfortunately this did not work. Today he took a hard bite on my wrist as I was petting him. He almost pierced the skin and I now have a bruise on my wrist. I wish I understood his mind but instead I think of Travis the chimp in Stamford.