Tag: Truck

Izzie – It’s Mine Now!

The Viking is always getting visitors.  They drop shit off and pick shit up and they all make me happy when they leave.  I don’t like people invading my yard any more than I like other cats invading my yard but if they really feel the need to stop by the least they can do is leave their truck door open, or a window at a bare minimum.  I’m short, you know, and getting into your vehicle isn’t always easy.

I bring this up now because I found the perfect Izzie-mobile.  Lucky for me, the guy I am stealing it from spent a good amount of time talking with The Viking so I could do a long and thorough inspection.  That’s the most important thing about getting a new vehicle – check it over carefully.

I like the color.  It’s not pink but it’s attractive nonetheless.

That seat belt is a little high.

It has a rack to carry my litter box and cat tree – unlike that monstrosity The Viking drives.

Lots of leg room for my people.

Plenty of cargo space for my toys and food.

The side mirrors are in good order – I just need to reset them for my height.

Methinks I’m going to need a Booster Seat.

Hey!  You!  Hand over the keys so I can take it out for a test drive.

And then, in what I can only call a complete breakdown in communication, the guy takes the truck away!!  What the hell were you thinking, Viking?!  I wanted it and you just let him drive it away?

I was just getting over your betrayal with the neighbor’s cat and then you pull this shit?!  How hard could it be to just put the guy on a bus?

What?!  I’m not allowed to have a truck now?  Is that what you’re saying to me?

Where’s Mom?!  She’ll let me have a truck.  Just you wait and see!

I put up with a lot of crap around here.  Mim brings her damn cats here all the time and you won’t leave the water running so I can drink when I want and Teddy eats my food.  You even tried to make me wear a sweater!  I don’t do sweaters!

Look at me when I’m giving you the Stink Eye!  If I had poo right now I would fling it at you.

Someone had better get that Treat Jug out.

I don’t know why I even put up with you.  There seems to be no end to the atrocities.  I’m calling PETA!  Black Lives Matter, you know!

You think I’m going to ‘sit pretty’ anymore?  I don’t bloody think so!  I’m going for a nap and there had better be zero noise!  You hear me?  ZERO!

 

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Without a Blood Offering We’re Screwed

We’re screwed! Completely and utterly screwed!

Sorry. That’s a little rude of me.  Come in and sit.  Here’s some coffee and a piece of cake.

Yes, I was on a diet, but that’s done. No reason to diet when we’re screwed!

“How are we screwed?”

The Viking did it! You would think he would have known better considering Viking Gods are a little more interactive than the regular run-of-the-mill Gods.

What am I talking about? I’m talking about The Viking challenging the Gods. It started with him telling me that his friend Barney hit an elk on the highway the other day, and his truck is a write-off. And if The Viking had stopped there we would be fine. But he didn’t. He carried his thought just that one step further and screwed us!

He said, “That’s so weird because we spend way more time on the highways than Barney and we’ve never hit anything.”

Half way through that sentence I started waving my hands at him, “DON’T SAY IT!!” But he just kept talking! Even the cat looked horrified!

Well, normally I’m not superstitious. I have a black cat and I walk under ladders all the time and I’ve never thrown salt over my shoulder, but this is different. This was a direct challenge to the Gods. Right now, Odin and the gang are laughing their asses off?! The Norns have just changed the threads of our fate.”

Of course I believe that! The better question is “Who doesn’t?” That’s why I never count my chickens before they hatch and I always knock on wood. The worst part is that we don’t know when or how retribution will arrive. Maybe they’ll just throw an elk in front of us next time we hit the road or maybe it will be a Mack truck. The Gods can be vindictive that way.

I put some flowers, grains and a couple of apples on the back step as a form of appeasement but I don’t think the Gods were interested. It didn’t look like they even passed by. I dumped a beer on the lawn – that was the closest thing to mead I could find – and tossed a chunk of my hair out there, too, for good measure. I’m not feeling very un-cursed though.

Oh! Hey! You’re not a virgin are you? Because I think if I could find a virgin…….

Okay, okay! I was only joking. Mostly. Besides there isn’t a volcano within a 1000 miles of here.

So that just leaves us with a blood offering. The Gods are probably hoping for a bull or a goat but the best I can do is a chicken from Safeway. I wonder if I could get the butcher to keep the blood from one chicken and a heart? They wouldn’t think that’s weird, right? I can’t be the first person to ask. And while I’m thinking about it, why am I the one doing all the appeasing work around here? I’m not the offensive one!

If the chicken doesn’t work, then the only thing left is to sacrifice The Viking himself.  Hopefully the Gods will accept just some of his blood.  He is very useful around here and I would miss him terribly if I had to give all of him to the Gods.  According to my research though, they might be appeased with just a cup of blood and some mead.

If this works, maybe, just maybe, we might not be as screwed as I think we are.  And I hope he learns the lesson that he can’t go around, willy-nilly, challenging the Gods and think he can get away with it.

Thanks to Part Time Monster for hosting Weekend Coffee Share

Wild Sabretooth Burros and Burritos

The first time The Viking brought me to Lake Havasu there was a big, greyish plywood sign immediately after we left I-40 onto Highway 95 south.  The sign said CAUTION in big, hand-painted letters in yellow and below that WILD BURROS in red and below that DRIVE WITH CAUTION in red as well.

I peered through the darkness hoping to catch a glimpse of these exotic Wild Burros.  I didn’t even know there was such a thing as Wild Burros.  What would they look like? Would they be bigger than normal burros or smaller?  If someone put a Wild Burro beside a Tame Burro would we be able to tell them apart?  I wanted answers.

Sadly, I didn’t see one.  Not on that trip and not on the trips of the next two years.  And then the Government of Arizona must have decided they should make a small effort to protect these wild beasts because they put up an actual, real sign.

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Holy Mother of Gawd!!  These Wild Burros are nothing short of Sabretooth Burros!!  Look at that open mouth!

“The doors on the truck are locked, right?”  I asked The Viking as we drove past the sign.  I was suddenly glad I hadn’t seen one yet!  I think a person needs to prepare themselves for an event like actually witnessing Sabretooth Burros in the wild.  Would we be safe inside the truck or would a person need a Brinks Truck?  Or an Army issue Humvee thing with little openings to stick gun barrels through?  Would regular guns be enough?  Maybe we would need a Rocket Launcher or a Bazooka?

Me:  Why are you driving so slow?!
The Viking:  The speed limit is 65 mph.
Me:  What?!  That’s waaaay too slow!  One of those things could catch us!
The Viking:  I don’t think Wild Burros can run 65 mph.
Me:  Maybe not Wild Burros, but we’re not talking about regular Wild Burros, are we?  We’re talking about Sabretooth Burros!  Maybe those bastards can run 80 mph!
The Viking (sighing):  That’s impossible.
Me:  No wonder this area has such a small population.
The Viking:  ….
Me:  What if the speed limit is set so slow so the Sabretooth Burros can catch us?  Maybe we are a feeding program sanctioned by the government?!
The Viking:  For fuck’s sake.
Me:  Think about it!  They put up a dam to make a beautiful lake which lures boating enthusiasts but then they force them to drive so slow that Sabretooths can hunt them down and catch them!
The Viking:  That would never happen.  How do you even think these things up?
Me:  I’m just surprised they warned us about it with the sign!

It would be another year before we screwed up our courage to actually go looking for them.  Okay, it was only me that had to screw up my courage.  For some reason The Viking didn’t seem concerned at all!  But on October 16th, 2010 I posted this on Facebook:

Disregarding our own safety, we embarked on a determined search to locate the shy, elusive Wild (Sabretooth) Burro. Yesterday, we finally found a small herd of the beasts in the middle of the desert. Contrary to the image captured on the official, government sign, these beasts appeared to be herbivores and NOT carnivores. In fact, they looked identical to TAME burros, except their mane and hair was not nearly as tidy as Tame (non-Sabretooth) Burros.

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pregnant-burro

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So it was a bit of a disappointment.  I had talked myself into being excited about carnivorous burros that may or may not be able to run faster than 65 mph.  I was sure that Tina the Truck could easily keep us from being Burritos (see what I did there?) for Wild Sabretooth Burros unless they can run faster than 100 mph which is where the damned governor kicks in.  At that point we would probably be swarmed and killed and turned into Burritos.

I bring this all up because yesterday we went for a drive to see the new bridge over the Hoover Dam – amazing! – and then toodled through Historical Oatman on the way home.  We love the drive through the rocky hills but wouldn’t want to do it without air conditioning – it’s smoking hot!  If you haven’t read The Grapes of Wrath you should, it’s a kick in the gut and you won’t soon forget it.  It also gives you a new perspective of Route 66.

As for Oatman, it’s an old mining town turned tourist stop and it’s over-run with Wild Burros.  Contrary to my first thought, no one was eaten by the Wild Sabretooth Burros here.  I asked.  The gold ran out, that’s why it’s turned Tourist, so if you visit this wonderful place you don’t need to worry about becoming a Burrito.  Buy carrots though.

Anyway, Oatman has a lot of Wild Burros…..and there are babies!  Several babies!  And Wild Burro Babies are about the cutest things ever.

baby-wild-burrosAnd the best way to end a lovely drive.

Someone Is Out To Get Me!

The Viking discovered my car had a flat tire this morning.  This is odd because I haven’t gone anywhere in the last 24 hours that one might expect a tire hazard, like a construction site.  And it isn’t even a nail or a screw that any one could pick up anywhere – it’s a very large staple except it’s width is about 4 times as thick as a regular construction staple.

The Viking showed me the staple still stuck in the tire and I immediately suspected that SOMEONE IS OUT TO GET ME!

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Pods of Zen

I bought a new vehicle (Charlotte) last year and I have to say that I am totally in love with it. When I slide into that driver’s seat and push the start button there is a moment of magicalness that makes me smile.  The heated seat comes on to toast my behind and adjusts itself perfectly.  The computer loads my music right where I left off the last time I was in the car.  When I put it in reverse the camera comes on in the dash.  “Beep! Beep!  Be careful. There is something behind you and we wouldn’t want to dent my bumper, now would we?”  No we wouldn’t!

Charlotte is a pod of zen, designed just for me.

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