We become incapacitated as our stomachs attempt to take inventory of all the goodness crammed down our throat.  The battle going on in our gut is ignored.  We’re no longer thinking rational, this need to consume is in the DNA, and can only be shutoff by the passing of the holidays.

Pushing away from the table, it takes all our strength to slumber to the couch.  Gravity takes hold of the weight in our gut and we collapse towards the couch.  With only the thought of hibernation weighing on our mind we accelerate towards the cushions .  Confident we’ve engulfed enough reserves to fuel our body through the winter, our eyes close before impact with the pillows.

Aside from food bonging, there is supposed to be a meaning and purpose of Thanksgiving.  Simply, it is to give thanks.  But, before the gravitational pull of the couch consumes my gluttonous body to the depths of its pillows, I have to ask myself a question.  Why is it should I give thanks on Thanksgiving?  In a world that offers hollow promises of greener pastures, I am asked on this one day to say to myself, “What I have here, this is to be thankful for.”  On Thanksgiving, there aren’t supposed to be any greener pastures than the one I’m standing in.  While this is the case, it’s too easily forgotten the other 364 days of the year.  So this year I’m not only thankful for the green pasture I find myself standing in, but for writing this short post to remind me that after the turkey is picked clean, the Lions game is over, and our piled masses recoup on the couch the real purpose of Thanksgiving shouldn’t be lost on the next 364 days.

Came across this picture on the internet, this is what I got from it.

Showing dogs isn’t a hobby.  It’s a destructive lifestyle, that often leads to alcoholism and poor wardrobe choices.  It started innocently enough for Lance Pefferton (LP), some 65 years ago in the animal shelter.  At the time the choice between the alley cat and the mutt wasn’t as clear as it is now.  As a teen in the 40′s a feline seemed equal to a canine, to LP a pet was a pet.  Taking the mutt home in his parents Studebaker, Lance gained fondness for the pup cowering in the seat next to him.  ”Whats to be afraid of, lil’ guy?  I’ll name you Mutsie and show the world you’re the greatest.”   Call it fate or destiny, but on that day LP and Mustie’s paths crossed, and the two were joined on an inseparable journey into the depths of dog shows.  Within weeks, LP underwent a metamorphic transformation from outgoing all American boy to a reclusive shadow of his former self focused only of Mutsies fluid gait.  LP referred to himself as Mutsies master but, clearly given the sacrifices LP gave to prance Mutsie around turf fields, it was Mutsie who held the leash in this relationship.  At first life on the road was easy.  LP took it as his calling that he was to present Mutsie to the world.  The long nights of grooming and repetitious prancing didn’t bother him at first.  It was a cheap price to pay for those blue ribbons and moments of glory under the lights.  It seemed the pair would conquer the world.

Fast forward to present day, gone are the lights.  The blue ribbons of years past accumulate dust.  The Purina sponsorship checks stopped rolling in years ago.  Although still donning his plaid twead jacket, and brown polyester pants, a shell of his former self rests inside.  There wasn’t a definitive starting point of decline.  The drinking took hold gradually.  It was a  means to deal with the chaos of the grooming center backstage and the ever present fear of defecation under the lights.  As his once linear path meandered more and more, LP leaned further on the bottle.  Mutsie suffered most from his demise.  Once a regular on the podium, Mutsie was rarely groomed and bathed.  Her twisted birdsnest of a mane, along with LP’s drunken stumble and vomiting during the Ft. Worth Invitational, caused a lifetime expulsion from the “sport.”  As LP faded,  Mutsie slipped exponentially.  I suppose she could of outlasted LP’s decline but she couldn’t escape the expedition of dog years.  In his apartment, drowned in debt, despair, and bottles LP stares mindlessly into the fuzz on his tv.  His cable was turned off again, and this time as if a twist of the dagger in his heart, it was shut off during the Westminster Dog Show.  Just as LP’s fist clenched in anger, a glimmer caught his eye.  There in the corner, barely visible behind a mountain of unpaid bills was Mutsies urn.

Through the highs and lows, the late nights, the thousands of miles, he’d do it all again.  Retracing the years back in his head, he could see himself as a teenager in the animal shelter.  He knew he made the right choice.  As the reflection off Mutsies urn scorched his retina, he tipped back his stein and let the Old Milwaukee cascade down his throat.  Then not forgetting Mustie he poured out an equal amount onto the floor.

“Here’s to you Mutsie.”

At the expense of throwing the defibrillator at this blog (see last post) I have to say that 7am MST is way too early to be using a plunger.  A Folgers induced Vesuvius rocked the early morning silence on my block.  It’s just as well though, I couldn’t sleep in.

I had dreams of wolves and bears.  The last thing I remember in my dream was wrestling with a pack of wolves in a snow storm, kill me now.  I don’t know who would of won and that’s probably best.  In the nights prior to leaving town I didn’t have dreams.  They were restless nights of tossing and turning, stressing and wondering.  Today, I woke up refreshed, and after the Folgers ran it’s course faster than Usain Bolt, much more refreshed.  Yesterday I woke up at a mountain lake with the brisk wind and snow slapping my face.  No worries, no schedule.  Just fishing and exploring on the agenda.

The outdoors impress a feeling of obligation to keep going and exploring.  There’s the guilt of possibly missing something around the next bend or over the next ridge.  At some point though, nature always wins.  You have to head back appreciating what you were able to see and postulate the wonders of what lies beyond.  Hoping you’ll be fortunate enough to make it back and put in another round.

I headed back after exploring what I was able to explore.  Joyous and refreshed, it was time to head back to the hollow concrete canyons .  Like an alcoholic and Jim Beam, this cocktail of fresh air and solitude will hold me over, for a while.  Rolling back down the highway with my windows down the 5.2 cruised at almost 90 mph as I was distracted by the peaks around me and singing along to Johnny Cougar.  I’ll sleep good tonight, I thought.

Link to a few Pics…caution may be NSFW…that is if you’re stuffed in a cubicle somewhere.

1: Senate seeks a Compromise on Financial Reform Bill
The article includes a picture of Obama giving a speech with arms outstretched.  The imagery gives the impression that safety rests under the wings of Barry.  That, with the needed change comes hope…or some bullshit like that.  Anyway, the article addresses the “need” for sweeping financial reform so we “never” have another financial meltdown.  You have to love reform.  How can we forget the recent health care reform bill.  The one that was supposed to extend coverage to millions AND save money..wait, whats this..it will COST more…good thing we find that out AFTER it is passed.  It further goes on to declare the need for a new agency to protect consumers in the marketplace.  Oh another agency!  This is fantastic…(See headline 3) Other statements in the article say that “we need to reign in Wall St. risky practices.”  Correct me if I’m wrong here but the majority of the financial crisis was created by defaults on subprime mortgages.  Those mortgages were urged by Congress, so everyone had the “right” to home ownership.  Makes about as much sense as taking a dook in my front yard.

2) Goldman, White House ties raise eyebrows
So Goldman is shackin’ up at the the White House…Gee I am shocked.  These “Wall St. Fatcats” who need to be reigned in to avoid another financial crisis, donated about a million bucks to Obamas 08 Presidential run.  Then while under investigation from the SEC, their CEO visited the White House numerous times.  SEC..we’ll cover those guys in headline 3, where they’re on top of their game.

3) SEC Workers Were Watching Porn as Economy Tanked
In their defense, it probably is more exciting watching a wobbly H than plummeting stock charts.  I digress, back to the main point of the current financial reform push.  The Administration is saying we need more oversight, so we don’t have another financial crisis.  I can see it now…the SEC offices don’t have cubicles but coin operated booths where they put in gold coins (tax payer $) and the curtain raises to show pole dancers holding top financial firms latest earnings reports.  As the SEC execs sit in the shadows smoking stogies they contemplate the risks of these fat cats.  The curtain closes as the timer runs out.  Question, if Goldman was in bed with the White House, would the SEC watch?  Maybe if they got to 2nd base on a webcam.  This is a system that I have confidence won’t let another meltdown happen. (sarcasm)

4) B of A wants to let jobless skip house payments
Because we simply cannot let those people miss a payment.  I mean times are tough.  So tough in fact that Uncle Sam has extended benefits to 99 weeks by extending payroll taxes.  The incentives to be unemployed are starting to outweigh the pros of being employed.  I should just buy an Xbox and get fired, life would be great.  And what does BofA have to fear, if they run out of money, I’m sure Uncle Sam would be glad to step in with an IOU.

So since I believe everything I read I can only conclude that we need more financial reform and agency oversight  so we can have more agencies who watch porn and more corporations who are in bed with politicians.  And just in case a company does something where they will lose revenue, Uncle Sam will be there like a nurturing mother because they are “too big to fail.”   Actually it seems the problem more lies with Washington.  Can I get a hell yeah for lobbyist, politician reform?

US to Sell $81 Billion in Long-Term Debt Next Week

World Bank Raises Forecast for China’s Economy

Sidenote.  I’ll probably be looking for some freelance graphic design work when I get back to civilization to pay my overdue bills.  Hit me up if you want some quality work.

Here’s what I’d like to see.  Choose one of the following icons to be displayed in the lower right hand corner of the screen with a 20 degree range of possible high temperatures for the following day.  This would allow for more actual “news” coverage and less arm gestures in front of a green screen full of jet streams.  If I want something more I’ll go to the weather channel and veg out for a few hours looking at the same Doppler screen on repeat.  I know I’m bitter but why waste time on something so inaccurate when there are a million more important things going on in the world.  My $.02.