Thursday, March 04, 2004

posted by: copernicus on 3/04/2004 04:05:00 AM
I want to write something, but I can't think of anything to say.

Little the cat (the orange & white one in the Picture Gallery) is standing on this desk next to the keyboard right now, purring like an engine and looking me in the eyes. His eyes are half closed, he looks like he needs a nap.

I could use a nap myself, but couldn't sleep. That's why I'm typing right now.

Little just put a paw on my shoulder, shifted his weight so he could reach my face, and licked my nose..........................................................................................................................

Ok, sorry. Had to take a little break there to give the kitty some lovin'. After all, a lick on the nose deserves reciprocal affection.

He's now staked himself out a square foot of desk space on top of the papers and bills and has commenced grooming, still vibrating like a small motor. When in nursing school, actually tried to use him to practice on for assessment of heart, lung and bowel sounds, but every time I began to examine him with my stethescope he would start purring loudly and I couldn't hear shit.

He has now moved to my lap and is watching my hands, trying to figure out what my fingers are doing as I type these words.

When I lived in Miami and would find myself having trouble writing, I came up with a formula to help get the flow going.

I'd start by typing:
"Sitting at my desk
With the bay behind the glass,
I'm wondering what I'm doing here
Sitting on my ass."

If no ideas would pop into my head by that point, I would start to write about whatever the nearest cat was doing at the time (we had 4 cats at one point).

For example:
"...Little's exploring my underwear drawer,
Like a brave mideval knight.
I'm typing, naked, in the dark
And thinking about flight..."

Usually by the time I'd get to the cats, the path to what I wanted to explore would materialize before me and I'd start sprinting down it while it was still there.

OOH!
RANDOM FREE ASSOCIATION THOUGHT OF THE DAY:

"...and though inside I'm feeling giddy,
always wrong for never giving myself that uninvaded door..."
-Blind Melon-Toes Across the Floor-Soup

While once caught happily singing that line in the passenger seat of John's car, he looked at me and said:
"Shit, man! Your door's not uninvaded."

You could always count on John to ambush you with a sentence constructed in such a way that it would force you to examine it's structure for meaning, and would usually lead to a new realization about yourself. He seemed to have X-Ray vision when it came to seeing through the lies people tell themselves so they won't have to think about the way things really are, thereby forcing them to deal with the problem instead of just painting it over.

Though sometimes a pain in the ass,
John can always be counted on to confront you with your own bullshit, and not let you start liking the smell.

Thank you, John.
=========================
In honor of John and Blind Melon popping into my head randomly,
here is one of John's favorite Blind Melon lines:

"...And I can't tell you
How many ways that I've sat,
And viewed my life today.
But I can tell you,
I don't think that I can find easier way.
So if I see you,
Walking hand-in-hand-in-hand
With a three armed man,
you know I'll understand.

But you should have been in my shoes yesterday,
*Whew*
You should have been in my shoes yesterday."

-Blind Melon-St. Andrew's Fall-Soup