I Ain't Afraid of No Daleks

Now, from the time I was around 10 or 11 years old, until mum sold our family home late in '83, it was my job to mow the lawn. We had about 3/4 of an acre...big front yard, two side yards and and a rough back yard (lots of mole hills and rabbit holes) that had a really lovely slope that my dad always said he'd have filled in, but of course, since MOI was the one doing the mowing, he never had done.

And, when mum moved into a trailer park after selling the house, I mowed her yard, as well, for another 13 years, until she moved into an apartment with me.

So, imagine my amazment just now, at seeing a perfectly fit, seemingly healthy 20-something young man, mowing the tiny little lawn of the apartment house next door---on a great big RIDING TRACTOR. I mean, we're talking a lawn that's all of about 20 feet across and about 10 or 15 feet wide! What's with THAT???

Wow, the laziness of some so-called American "men," just boggles me sometimes. I've also seen perfectly fit-seeming guys using a snow blower to blow a whole inch or two of light, fluffy snow from a walkway--a walkway even I, with my disabilities, could easily clear with a flippin' broom!

And, get this---yesterday I heard a TEN YEAR OLD complain that he had to "walk too much" down the hallways of his school!" Flippin' A! At 46--and overweight/out-of-shape, I was walking nearly 3 miles to and from work every day.

Now, in high school, I went to a school with over 3000 students....it was a HUGE campus. I had one year, where I had to walk from one end of the campus, all the way acress the entire car-park, up a flight of stairs, and down to the end of a long hallway, just going from my English class to my science class--just barely made the bell each time--and in the dead of a bitter cold winter, it was NOT a fun walk--I did complain about that...but only because of the time factor and the weather....what's become of our nation when a blinking ten year old complains about walking down a hallway too much? Geez, when I got to be over 12, and missed the moring bus, mum MADE me walk to school--which was clear on the opposite side of the village! Wow. Hard to bend my head around this, sometimes. Feel sorry for kid's today...they're missing so much of life, out of sheer lack of activity, aren't they?

Yes, my Canadian, Australian and European friends--Americans really are stupid and lazy!

BCUK seems to have once again developed some publishing issues--and did not want to publish this post after I'd switched it from "draft" to "everyone." Of course, BCUK would likely give me the usual response that is that they can't duplicate the problem and have no clue.

Anyway--here's the post, re-posted:

1. Can you cook? Got a Culinary Arts I certificate
2. What was your dream growing up? To be a cowgirl or an actress or a forest ranger
3. What talent do you wish you had? Uh, dunno'. Guess it would be a tie between acting, and drawing/painting
4. Favorite place? Lower Falls of the Yellowstone-never got tired of seeing it.
5. Favorite actor? Derek Jacobi (David's second, okay fan-girls?)
6. What was the last book you read more than once? Pompeii by Robert Harris
7. What zodiac sign are you? Scorpio
8. Any Tattoos and/or Piercings? No way Jose!
9. Worst Habit? swearing
10. Favorite snack? cheese and crackers
11. What is your favorite sport? To watch: Golf or show jumping. To Play: Crazy golf or horseshoe pitching, to do (if I were rich): Horseback riding or rowing/rafting/sailing
12. Do you have a Negative or Optimistic attitude? About 60/40
13. What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator with me? Chat, sing, check my armpit odor and pick my nose when you weren't looking...
14. Best thing to ever happen to you? Going to study for 2 weeks in the Netherlands
15. Tell me one weird fact about you. I've two webbed toes on either foot.
16. Do you have any pets? 3 cats at present--lifelong animal person
17. Do you know how to do the Macarena? (No, but I used to do the Hustle, does that count?)
18. What time is it where you are now?. At the sound of the tone, the time will be...BONG. 10.22 pm
19. Do you think clowns are cute or scary? Neither. They're just..okay.
20. If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be? My nose or my chin--that Polish babuska look just isn't me.
21. Would you be a partner in crime or in conscience? Depends on the circumstances, but if it's for a good cause, in conscience.
22. What color eyes do you have? Brown
23. Ever been arrested? Refuse to answer on the grounds that it may embarrass the hell out of me.
24. Bottle or Draft? Neither. Stopped liking beer in my early 20's. But...Genesse Cream Ale on tap, was generally my beer or choice, when I was younger.

25. If you won $10,000 dollars today, what would you do with it? Pack me and my cats and my stuff off to the UK, Iceland or the Netherlands, and get the hell out of this country before all hell breaks loose.
26. What kind of bubble gum do you prefer to chew? I don't like bubblegum
27. What’s your favorite bar to hang at? I never did the bar-hanging out scene, except sometimes with dorm-mates or with my dad (don't ask)--too boring for a non-drinker/light drinker...the US doesn't do pub quiz nites.
28. Do you believe in ghosts? Saw one, so what do'ya reckon?
29. Favorite things to do in your spare time? Without money: write, read,
or watch Dr Who on DVD, or take walks/window shop, listen to music. With money: Ride horses, or play mini-golf or just...lots of stuff.
30. Do you swear a lot? More than I want to.
31. Would you prefer to act in a play, or spend the weekend in Vegas?
Play. Having worked in a casino, Vegas wouldn't be that big a deal to me, except maybe for some of the shows, and, I just really like the theatre.
32. Would you prefer hot dogs and beer at a sporting event, or cracked crab and champange on the beach? Neither, neither one is really my "thing"--tho' if I HAD to choose, it would be the beach one, I suppose.
33. Last song you listened to? "There She Goes" by the La's.
34. Last meal you ate? I made a specially seasoned hamburger, and ate it with fried onions, ketchup and mustard on a kaiser roll.
35. Last DVD you watched? Doctor Who Series 4 "The Poisoned Sky."
36. Do you have a college degree? AA degree in Liberal Arts/Humanties
37. Farthest distance you've ever traveled in a 24 hour period? Lake Luzerne (southern Adirondacks) NY to Cairo, Egypt.
38. First trip you ever took by yourself away from home? To New York City for the day, when I was 16.
39. All-time favourite subject in school? Tie between horsemanship and playwrighting.
40. How old are your parents? Both deceased.

LOWER FALLS OF THE YELLOWSTONE, YELLOWSTONE PARK, WYOMING...It really does look like that, too.

Whew! I'm just sitting here, chillin' before leaving for work, and already I'm sweating!

No sign of any relief from the rain, tho' there's a bad thunderstorm way out in the southwestern part of the state, near the Great Lakes. Won't be heading our way tho'.

Got a notice in the post from the city yesterday. Apparently their about to totally re-pave our street next week, creating a lot of noise, dust and traffic tail-backs. Fan-friggin'-tastic. As if it didn't take me forever to run any errands before, now it's going to take up to twice as long--with dust and noise coming throuh my open windows in the heart of the summer heat...yeah, I REALLY dig city life...not.

I do miss having an air conditioner, at times. How spoiled we can become, ey?

I was going to see Two Gentlemen from Verona tonight, but other things got in the way of those plans....will try hard to catch the next performance. I'm so missing seeing plays and whatnot. And, I REALLY need to get out and away from these four walls I've been staring at for months on end, before it damages me irreparably.

I was listening to Won't Give In by the Finn Brothers. You know, I rather like their sound. I had a Finn in my family--my Polish aunt/godmother's hubby, was a Finn. He was a local character, who once worked as a wrangler and/or roustabout (depending on who was telling the story) in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, when he was a boy.

Don't mind me, I'm just blathering on about nothing, this morning. Sorry.

Well, I'm just sitting here listening to a ranom mix on Pandora Radio:

SONG/ARTIST

Ely's Coming/Three Dog Night
When We Were Young/The Killers
Dead in the Water/David Gray
Won't Give in/Finn Brothers
Lulu Selling Tea/The Proclaimers
Please/The Zakary Thaks
Too Much on My Mind/The Kinks
Touch Too Much/The Arrows
Mr. Brightside/The Killers
Ghost/Cordalene
Livin' It Up (Friday Night)/Bell and James
Shimmy Low/The Clarks
Pin a Rose on Me/Steve Ellis
I'd Really Love to See You Tonight/England Dan and John Ford Coley
Hey Girl/O.A.R.
Double Vision/Foreigner

"Please, please Mr. Tennant, I want to snog and shag you, and my mate here says he wants to marry you, We think you're soooo-hot! My name's Fred, can I have your autograph?"

Whew! Going to be a hot one today! Even the birds sound unhappy...usually there's one or two, sining merrily away in the morning, this morning there's just one, and it's chirruping rather half-heartedly...even the birds don't like this hot steamy weather, ha-ha.

Not much going on. I've got to post a bill, and cannot find a stamp to save my life--I'll have to schlep my way to the post office either today or tomorrow, as the bill is due on the 20th. It's such a pain trying to post anything, because all of the post offices are in outlying areas--two in shopping centers, qute a walk from the road. Great if you've got a car, sucks if you don't.

Well, I was going to just come home after work and chill, but think I'll have other plans, not important what those are, just mundane stuff, but these little trips I have to take do sometimes tire me out.

I am feeling slightly better this week--not great, but well enough to start resuming my life again...mostly running errands and going for walks and such. My will to eat is indeed back, which is a good thing...tho' I'm still being annoyingly forgetful and slow-minded, somewhat. Had a rough patch this morning tho', as I woke at 4am with nausea and stomach cramps. I feel better thankfully, just a little washed out, this morning.

Not much going on in my part of the world today.

In today's local paper:

A fire destroyed a home in the rural town of Greenwich. No one was home, but one of two pet dogs is still missing. The home is a total loss.

A fire in the small slate quarry town of Granville NY, on the Vermont border, a fire that killed a former classmate's cousin earlier this week, was deeped to have been started by a faulty power strip. Authorities warned people not to overload their powerstrips--as many fires are caused by this-- and to purchase strips with surge protectors.

A police officer from Long Isand, who owns a holiday home in the small mountain town of Bolton Landing on Lake George, was found guilty yesterday by the local town justice, of illegally firing a gun within 500 feet of a residence, and firing across a public road--both misdemenors in the state's conservation law. The man shot and killed a neighbour's boxer, whom he alleges was running up to the officer's girlfriend, as she was out jogging past the dog owner's home. Animal cruelty charges agasinst the officer were dismissed. The officer claims he carries a gun with him while out jogging, "in case he gets attacked by wild animals or someone tries to assault him."

--as an aside and for the record---According to one life-long resident of the town, there has never been a report of a wild animal attack OR an assult on joggers in the entire 200 year history of Bolton. I do wish these people from the New York City area, would leave their stinking ridiculous paranoias and overly aggresive attitudes at home, before they come up here--I came up here to get away from these terrified, coninually susupicious people! How can anyone willingly live like that??? I'm all for erring on the side of caution--but these people are way, way, way over-the-top with their fears, trust me.

The "penis man" was senteneced as well, yesterday. The young man who ran across the stage during a high school graduation ceremony in Saratoga Springs last month, spraying the audience with silly string, while dressed in an inflatable penis costume, was fined $95, told to write a letter of apology and given 24 hours of community service.

A man in the farm community of Salem NY, in Washington County, faces multiple charges today. Last night he was caught attempting to cut the brake lines of a neighbour's truck. This occured in the new housing development (estate) where they both live. The man who owns the vehicle, scared the other man off by firing a shotgun into the air. The man ran away, but left his 9 year old son--whom he brought with him--standing in the driveway. The man who was trying to cut the brakelines was later arrested and charged with endangering the welfare of a child, attempting bodily harm and vandalism. The dispute reportedly evolved when the man with the vehicle took away a moible he'd given the offender, when he deemed the offender was misusing the phone. The offender alledgedly got angry and threatend to get even. He was being held in the Washington County Jail until a bail hearing was set.

Residents in the Towns of Greenwich and Easton complained of a stench, when the owner of an animal rendering plant (Arbbittor) started leaving dead sheep, cow and horse carcasses lying around a nearby field. Apparently the plant owner is leaving the area, and simply decided to chuck the carcasses in a convenient field. A loophole in state conservation law prevents him from facing any charges, but town authorities have ordered him to desist.

And that's about it, really. Hope you all have a lovely day. Cheers.

...in drag!

Tho' I've learned to write bi-lingually in regards to merging into a UK blog with mostly UK friends (not counting a couple of fellow Americans, a Canadian, two Australians and one Croatian, pretty much all my other blog-friends are British--as far as I know), I try to merge our two cultures as seamlessly as possible, to make reading my blog a more (hopefully) enjoyable experience for my British pals--while at the same time trying to maintain my own unique "voice" as a writer...not always as easy as it sounds...for one thing...

...there's a LOT of cultural differences between Brits and Yanks.

Little Quiz:

A fag is:

A. A cigarette
B. Slang for a gay person
C. What someone with no teeth calls a flag

A whinge is:

A. Something you'd see on display in an DYI shop
B. Someone complaining in a childish manner
C. What the hell is a "whinge?"

A Whine is:

A. A beverage from grapes that's expensive when it's old and bitter, and delicious when it's young and inexpensive--and correctly spelled "wine"--honestly, you Yanks and your odd way of spelling things...tsk-tsk.
B. Someone who is complaining in a childish manner
C. The sound a mosquito makes when it's hanging around your ear

A trolley is:

A. Something they used to use as public transport early in the last centruy.
B. A basket on wheels that you use when shopping
C. Something you serve tea on

A Queue is:

A. That little pony tail that hung down from a man's head, back in the 18th century
B. A line that forms at a bus stop, bank machine, public loo or till
C. A stick you play pool with, that's spelled, "cue" you moron.

I expect all of you to study very hard for this test--and no, no extra credit if you correctly spell "f_ck off!" Sorry.

"It's for Queen and Country, my dear..."

________________________________________________________

CORRECT ANSWERS:

Yankee speak:

B.
C.
B & C
A & B
C

Brit-speak:

A.
B.
A.
B & C
A & B

Someone made this, and it was a TV crossover just waiting to happen. Personally, I think DT would make a great Gilligan!

In 2006, I wrote this TV-crossover story, blending a popular old American sit-com for the 1960's, with Dr Who, and this was the result:

“Doctor’s Island” (Based on a popular American sit-com from my childhood)

The Doctor shrugged. “Ah, well. Let’s try somewhere else then. How ‘bout Club Med, eh?” Rose grinned. “Sure, why not?” He pressed a button. The Tardis de-materialized just as a now breathless young man came running back up the beach, with a fat man in a captain’s hat in tow. “See skipper!” The fat man looked at the empty beach. “See what? A girl and a big blue box!” He snorted. Then he hit the young man with his hat. “Gilligan! You and your stories!’

On the street that I grew up on, we were a close-knit group of kids. Of the approximately 10 families on our street, some of the parents may have kept to themselves at times (some of the better off people didn't want to mix with people they percieved to be chav matieral--or, the one Italian family on our street). But, for the most part, we kids all played with each other with total disregard for class issues. That's not to say we never got into any fights--oh yes we did, and some real hum-dingers they were, too. But, mostly, we all got on pretty well, over the course of the sixties and seventies. Well all rode the same school bus, went to the same village events, shopped at the same shops, etc. We even often encountered each other's parents, when out and about, as some parents--like my own--worked right in the village.

There was this mostly empty lot between two of the houses. It belonged to the only elderly couple on the street, a pair of ultra-devout Catholics, who really didn't like much of anything or anyone, except Jesus, Irish Catholics, their grown children and their garden. They had purchased an extra lot when they bought their home, because, the woman once told me, they didn't want the neighbours being too close to them. The couple used about a quarter of the lot--which was roughly less than half and acre in size--for their vegetable and sunflower garden. The rest was simply grass.

This was a favourite place for us kids to play kickball.

Now, for those of you not familar with this sport, it's basically a cross between baseball and soccer (football).

You had a "home plate" and three "bases"---usually our shoes and socks, or maybe big sticks or whatever else we could find--baseball gloves, sweaters (jumpers), pieces of cardboard, what-have-you.

Like baseball, you would stand at "home plate." A "pitcher" would stand in centre field, and roll the ball to you (sometimes we'd kick it as well). The objective was to try and kick the ball past the opposing team members, who were standing out by the bases and also in the field (depending on on many players you had--sometimes there weren't enough to man both the bases and the "outfield," which made the game harder for opponents and easier for the kickers), three "strikes" (misses) and your're out. You had to run the bases, but if someone tagged you by kicking the ball into you, or picking up and throwing the ball into you, you were out. When you ran to all three bases, and made it back to "home plate" you scored a "home run" for your team.

However, the only time the opposing team could physically pick up the ball, was to throw it at a runner. The rest of the time it was hands-off, or the opposing team would lose a point. It that respect, it was more like soccer.

There was another version of this game, for when you only had two to four players, called, "Run the bases." In Run the Bases, you had only two bases. The "pitcher" would kick or roll you the ball, and you would try to kick it as far as you could, then run from one "base" to the other, as many times as you can, before someone tagged you "out." That could smart a bit...especially those butt (bum)-shots...and head shots.

We actually played Run the Bases probably more than kickball, due to the fact that less people were needed to play it--and the rules were a whole lot simpler.

The game was usually played until A. We got tired, B. it was lunch/dinner time, or (most often) C. A fight broke out (mostly the verbal kind)...mostly as a result of an overly agressive to-the-head or butt-shot, by one of the boys....or, perhaps if a team was losing, they might take out their frustration on a poorly performing team-mate.