Povey Prattle

I used to believe that the fastest animal in the world was a domestic cat when she/he heard the sound of an opening tin(can) of tuna. I was wrong. Domestic cats run even faster when they hear the sound of a packet of cat treats (e.g. “Temptations”) being opened.  As soon as I have taken such a packet into my hands, let alone opened it, my cats Adelaide (blue collar) and Ada (red collar) race into my kitchen. I suspect that these cat treats are the feline equivalent of the human snack called “Doritos”.  Both “Temptations” and “Doritos” are all but irresistible!   That is why I do not purchase “Doritos”.  I cannot eat a simple handful since my body craves and cries “more, more, and more”. No Doritos for me, but I do allow some cat treats for Ada and Adelaide every afternoon at about 4:00.  I know that they are grateful!   It’s just as well that they do not crave beer or wine! I believe that my cats are not merely grateful, but that they are also b...

I went to the Movies/Pictures yesterday to see “The Ghost Writer” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ghost_Writer_%28film%29 It is a slow, and rather dreary “thriller”. My critique is "tres pickie"  Here it is: At one point in the movie, the “hero” decides to purchase a car ferry ticket between Nantucket (or Martha’s Vineyard) and the Cape Cod mainland. In the movie the ticket agent asked “single or return?” No ticket agent in the U.S.A. would ever ask such a question. She or he would ask “one way, or round trip?” I love being so “picky, picky, picky”!

Tom D is an old acquaintance from Pittsfield, MA. I knew him as one of the group of Roman Catholic Christians who would attend St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in that town, at Christmas and Easter. (They became “Easter and Christmas” Episcopalians” because they thought that the music and preaching in the Episcopal Church was a few notches better than that in their R.C. parishes. I’ll not quarrel with that!) So Tom D was in Sarasota last week to enjoy a condo which had been bequeathed to him in the will of the late Gill F. Tom joined me for lunch on Friday 28th.May together with our dear ex-Pittsfield friends, Barbara and Kay. It was lovely enough to see Tom and cool that he’d remembered my birthday. He handed me a card at lunch:- a card which included five Florida Lottery “Scratch” tickets as a birthday gift. I looked at these “Scratch” tickets a few days later. I saw that if each of them turned out to be a winner, I’d be better off by $130,000. I began to visualize a...

As I walked with Penne this morning she pulled me towards “something” which engaged her in the shade of a tree.  It turned out that it was a snapping turtle. She appeared to be laying some eggs. First photo Later in the day I could see the indentation she’d made, but alas sans eggs. Perhaps she did not lay any eggs, or perhaps the local crows ate them. There is pond at Glen Oaks Manor, the neighbouring community. I walk around it at least five times each day. This “Manor” pond  is a fair bit shallower than our pond at Glen Oaks Ridge.  Because of a great deal of condensation, and a marked lack of rain, the Glen Oaks Manor Pond is overwhelmed with algae.  The stink is not good.  I hope that there will not be a “fish-kill” in that pond due to the lack of oxygen.  If that happens, the stink will be unbearable. Second photo; Also at Glen Oaks Manor - a company called “Verizon” is laying Fibre Optic Cables for its FIOS internet, telephone and telev...

A Member of Parliament to Disraeli: “Sir, you will either die on the gallows or of some unspeakable disease.” “That depends, Sir,” said Disraeli, “whether I embrace your policies or your mistress.”   “He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire.” - Winston Churchill   “I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure.”  Clarence Darrow   “He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary.” - William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway).   “Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I’ll waste no time reading it.” - Moses Hadas   “I didn’t attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it.” - Mark Twain   “He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends.” - Oscar Wilde   “I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend … if you have one.” - George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill “Cannot possibly a...

Today, May 31st 2010 was observed as “Memorial Day” in these United States. By coincidence in this year, the day was also a holiday in the U.K. - known there as Spring Bank Holiday Monday. (In the “olden days” the U.K. holiday was observed on the Monday after Whitsun, ( a.k.a. “The Day of Pentecost” in the Christian calendar), and was called Whit Monday. Here is a bit of the history of the American “Memorial Day” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Day With that history in mind I took myself to Main Street in Sarasota for our Memorial Day Parade. It was not very grand! The “stars” were members of the junior ROTC Corps from Riverview High School, and Booker High School, together with the band from Sarasota High School (whose moniker is the “Sarasota Sailors”) Junior ROTC strands for the (Junior) “Reserve Officers Training Corps”. The “Rotsee” (R.O.T.C.) students from Booker and Riverview High Schools marched with great precision and discipline. They put to shame ...

My body and my voice (I sang with the choir) were at St. Boniface Church here on Siesta Key this a.m. My mind was elsewhere . The Rector, Ted Copland preached a very brief sermon, but I haven’t a clue as to what he said.  My mind was elsewhere. My mind was with the congregation at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Fitchburg, MA as they worshipped together for the final time in that time honoured building on Wachusett St. in West Fitchburg. Those good folks will be folded as of next Sunday into the larger Christ Church on Main St. in Fitchburg. They have made a wise decision. Time and tide wait for no-one and it became clear that the small congregation could no longer sustain the expenses of a Priest’s stipend, plus the maintenance of an ageing building. It will be very hard for many folks to say adieu to a building in which they were baptized, confirmed or married; a building in which they prayed the final prayers for their Moms and Dads, or Gramps and Grandmas who had die...