contours provocations - 2005-1022

contours provocations
journal - 2005-1022 - sat 0030

"Meek little wives"; Cats; Ant Poison

What a tiresome day Friday was.

The weather continues to be warm and dry with no rain in sight. I thought there was supposed to be something called "autumn rains." But not here.

There's a great quote from Raymond Chandler that sums up this kind of weather. In his case, he was talking about the Santa Ana winds of California. It's from his novella "Red Wind."

"There was a desert wind blowing that night. It was one of those hot dry Santa Anas that comes down through the mountain passes and curls your hair and makes your skin itch. On nights like that every booze party ends in a fight. Meek little wives feel the edge of the carving knife and study their husband's necks."

I took one of the cats to the vet in the afternoon. She had developed an allergic reaction to flea bites. This is not the first time she's had this problem. Whenever this happens she climbs on the highest thing she can find and stays there. In this case, it's been the refrigerator.

The vet gave her a cortisone shot and some antibiotic drops for later. I also picked up some Revolution - another one of those flea medications sold only by vets - for the rest of the feline brood.

She seemed to be more alert once I got her home. And she has moved off the top of the refrigerator to the top of the stove. There's a grill in the middle with a pilot light underneath that gives off just enough heat to make the top slightly warm.

Seeking warmth has become a major event for the darlings. Anytime I turn on my 250-watt desk lamp, within seconds, two or three will jump up on the desk to bask in the heat.

On the way back from the vet, I was overcome by a murderous fury about something that had happened at work more than a year ago. I've come to the conclusion that such very irate emotions are the side effects of depression. The common perception of depression is that someone feels sad; but it is far more than that. There can also be an element of extreme anger. Most likely toward any slight you've had to endure.

In my case, several times it has involved work. And I must admit that there have been a number of times over the years that I wondered if I could slip ant poison into the sugar packs of certain coffee drinkers.

PAX!