you're funny


when you peddle pet supplies for a living, there is a higher than your average chance that you'll run into the occasional person that takes the ownership of their pet(s) a little too seriously. the same can be said in every walk of life i guess. people take work too seriously, burning the midnight oil and staying in the office ungodly amounts of hours 'til their eyelids' war with the part of the brain that reminds you of your actual need for sleep is lost. 'til their significant other gives up on yet another night of watching the month-old episode of fringe that "i really want to watch with you...it's just...work. i've got so much to do."some people might call this productivity at it's finest. some might argue that it's stupid. kiker and i have joked for years about the guys like "takes softball way too seriously guy". you know the guys. they wear baseball pants to play softball. they grunt when they hit the slowly pitched, size of a grapefuit ball as if they have just slayed a dragon. they don't shower. some people might call this competitive fire. some might argue that it's stupid. people take church too seriously. praying all the time. reading the bible. helping people. totally assessing what it really means to be a christian. wearing wwjd bracelets. some people might call this holiness. some might call it stupid. it's all relative.

relative to what?

exactly. now, we're getting somewhere.

pet ownership is no different. i am reminded of this every day i happen into the store. a woman came in yesterday to pick up millions (or so it seemed) of cans of cat food that i had special-ordered for her. as i was loading them into her truck for her, she talked to me of her disappointment in the results of tuesday night's presidential election. this lady has long been retired, and over the course of her retirement, she has inherited, taken in or rescued hundreds of cats. her current count stands at 77 (she thinks). a great cause is this if you are into cats. and she is into cats.

she told me that she felt ashamed to live in this country as of wednesday. she felt like all of her years of hard work had now been wasted. she told me a story of working 80 hours a week (doing godknowswhat) for two straight years before her husband had his second heart attack. she told me that after his heart attack, she retired and took to volunteering at her church (across the street from mine). she told me of how she prayed for her country's forgiveness after tuesday night and hoped that "when we were attacked", those that didn't vote for "the black man" would be removed from harm's way. i told her that i hoped she was right and that i hoped she didn't worry about such things too much. we then started talking about her cats again, and i found it fascinating the lengths to which she would go, from time to time, to find homes for her cats with elderly persons in our shared community that she thought "could just use a little company". i wished her luck in her efforts and told her i would see her next month. next month, we'll have the same general conversation. we have it every month.

her political views didn't and don't bother me. she, more or less, just summed up (i assume) the talking points she heard on fox and friends. her theology didn't and doesn't bother me. to each their own, you know? her story about working eighty hours a week didn't bother me, but it did make me sad. that's just too much, right? her passion for her cats didn't bother me. hell, through those cats she was enacting her own sort of ministry. i am sure she didn't see it that way. it's a fact that we all could just use a little company.

when you peddle pet supplies, there's a higher than your average chance that you'll run into a person that takes the ownership of their pet(s) a little too seriously. when we find those persons, we literally try and exploit that weakness. sell them dog cologne. a wicked automatic litter pan. a bandana. sell. sell. sell.

this little old lady wasn't one of those people. she took it just serious enough. she had found a balance. and a cause. and time to watch tv. she loved her husband. and she loves white people. maybe she winces at the idea of a black man being president. maybe that black man will make her life better. maybe she'll change her mind. and maybe that would change her mind about other black men (and women). one can hope, right?

i take alabama football way too seriously. i am a tightly wound ball of nerves about tomorrow. i didn't go to alabama. why do i take it so seriously? do you want to know?

or is it easier to just label me crazy? or stupid. or angry. or misinformed. or misunderstood. or eccentric. or pointed. or dramatic. or sincere. or respectful. or determined. or loving. or kind.

where is he going with this?

now, we are getting somewhere.