August | 2020 | Fluffy Pool

Dear Wednesday, a little late,

Dammit and bloody hell! I know this is not a polite way to begin a post, but WordPress is giving me grief by trying to force me to switch to their “new” block editor despite my resistance, and I am currently writing in some kind of Frankenstein classic editor hybrid, which is random and fickle and well, dammit and bloody hell!

So how are you?

I like today’s prompt, since it gives me a platform to promote my belief that most of the world’s ills could be solved if we all of us had good manners. Good manners means putting others at ease while still maintaining dignity yourself—imagine if politicians took up the banner!

People might say, Excuse me, sir, you look hungry and cold. Let me do my best to ease your suffering, since I am warm and well fed and understand that I am part of the same community as you! Madam, you are going to bring a newborn child into our community? Let me help you gain access to the best care possible, since resources are abundant and should not be withheld! Child, you look neglected and confused. Perhaps a humane safety net and access to a fine education can prevent tragic consequences in our community down the road! May god bless you, whether you believe in god or not, I respect your choices!

Kindness matters with regard to monumental issues as well as with small gestures. Everyone take a deep breath— a healthy breath behind a mask if need be—and go forth and save the world with good manners!

Now here are a few of my favourite cartoons, very loosely related to today’s prompt, “etiquette”:

Blame WordPress if this post is a dammit bloody hell mess, and have a happy week!

~~FP

Prompt: Sesame

Greetings Wednesday,

We had a visitor last weekend who is seriously gluten-intolerant, which meant I stocked up on rice crackers and corn pasta. She is not a gluten-intolerant wannabe—she actually gets physically sick if she ingests wheat products. I suppose she is the envy of a new kind of hypochondriac: the gluten-free-for-no-reason club at one end, and the vegan-because-I relish-the-cure-being-worse-than-the-disease at the other. I believe the only reason (besides mild masochism) for folks to aspire to a restrictive diet is for bragging rights, unaware that the brag is incomprehensible to most rational people. I don’t mind their fantasies of dietary superiority at all; I just wish they could be brief about it.

“They” say allergies are rampant these days because children lead such protected, antiseptic lives. This could be true: I know as a child I ate dirt and played in muck and came in contact with unimaginable contamination by today’s standards, yet suffer no allergies at all. Still, a friend I played with in the muck is lactose-intolerant, and also vegetarian, but since she eschews bragging rights I know her preferences are either necessities or have justifiable reasons behind them. She and I once hitchhiked to a campsite, and one of our rides was in a cattle transport truck which stopped at a stockyard, where cattle prods were used to hustle the animals out of the truck. That was unpleasant, and she says the start of her vegetarianism. Understandable, yes?

Meanwhile I am enjoying a plethora of sesame rice crackers, deliciously crunchy morsels that go well with the cheeses my vegetarian friend gifted us: pesto cheddar, chili pepper cheddar, and smoked paprika gouda. With some cabernet Italian salami, a few plump olives, and some gently pickled cucumber ribbons we have ourselves a summer afternoon feast.

I think Covid-19 serves as a reminder to appreciate those small, more intimate moments with friends and family. And of course the family dog, or in our case, giant toddler puppy with no manners. … But that’s another story.

May I now present a few of my favourite cartoons, the first of which is related to today’s prompt, “sesame”?

cartoon open sesame