I don’t know how I can be so tired. I did absolutely nothing this week at all. Hotel. Mall. Hotel. Mall. Hotel. Mall. I’ve actually decided to stay an extra day in order to see if I can actually make it into the big city and to get the car checked out. Our plans kept getting changed and I really wasn’t ready to go home yet. This was one of the suckier vacations so far when it comes to time with people and I just wasn’t ready to go.
Then again, I miss the animals at home terribly. My dad mentioned Bubbagump was hiding in one of the closets downstairs and I remembered the little guy and felt bad for being away, and second I got pissed off because my folks know that he’s not allowed downstairs. I’d have pitched a fit if they pulled that while I was there.
My parents aren’t hippies. My parents were probably the most conservative screwed up people there were in the 1970s. Sure my dad had a drinking problem, but he never got wild and crazy. My mom’s craziness doesn’t exist. Sure she does a lot of stupid things, as we all do, but she never sat down and defined anything too weird about her personality.
Together they are the most irresponsible people in the world. It’s kind of cute in a way, but in others it’s maddening. Both of them think nothing of putting animals out in the rain. Sure they know better than to put the dogs out during a lightning storm, but on more than one occasion they’ve let a cat out during the middle of a snow storm and never thought to check to put the damn thing back inside. I’ve asked if they would have let me out in it if I were a little kid and they said yes, but the real answer I’d have as a kid would be a mute silence because they were never home enough to handle things like “there’s a tornado in the backyard, can I go out and play in it?”
I love them but I really don’t know what would happen if they were left on their own. My dad doesn’t do anything other than grill on the BBQ and try to win in radio contests. He wins little things like donuts and entries into bigger contests that he’ll never win. My Mom is gone all the time on mystery shops (she will do so until the day she dies because it’s her sole escape from my dad and the pressures of being around my dad). The house gets cleaned by them whenever company is coming, that’s a big production number, but just for us, dirty carpets and dishes piling in the sink.
I try to do what I can but sometimes I get so busy as well and so lazy, let’s be honest here, that I forget. One thing leads to another and the whole bunch of us are doomed to a life of slobbiness on our own, dreadfully clean when company is around.
I started the book “Casino Moscow” by Matthew Brzezinski last night. It’s another easy read that I’m probably going to devour today if my travel plans fall through. Yes, another nonfiction, don’t ask me why but I find them more interesting at times since I know the stories are based on real events. This one is about the rise of the Soviet Super Bankers who control Moscow. From the picture he’s painted, Moscow is a golden gem of commercialism while the rest of the country struggles to get 4 hours of hot water a day.
One of the best scenes early on involves his entrance to Moscow. He’s on an ancient Soviet airliner and they’re flying through heavy snow. In Kiev, deicing literally means there’s a guy on the wing of the plane scooping the ice and snow off with a shovel before you take off. They made their flight to Moscow but landing was the problem, they encountered whiteout conditions. Since the old Soviet planes had little or no modern equipment, landing relied solely on the eyesight of the pilot … in a whiteout blizzard. They ended up missing the landing strip and going for another pass. If that failed, they’d have to go back to Kiev.
Even after almost dying on the first landing attempt the passengers on the plane encouraged the pilot to try again. Why? Because the unanimous feeling was that they’d all rather die in the whiteouts of Moscow than spend another night in Kiev. I felt the same way about Orlando, Florida. 🙂
So it’s time to get off my butt now and take a shower. I have another hour or so to see if we’re getting together today or if I’m finishing my book. Happy happy.
k9