EDITION OF THURSDAY, FEB. 24, 2022 [PetPowellPress] We had to overcome a first-time technical obstacle to produce this edition. The truck delivering consonants and punctuation marks to the North Texas Complete Sentence Assistance Center was held up by ice on roads coming south from Ellipses, Okla. (So-named because the city fathers claimed the town was always being left off maps and out of official lists of cities in Oklahoma.)
I might have made up that part about a town named Ellipses. Maybe that other stuff, too. Slick streets make me goofy.
True fact: Second time this winter that weather has affected our place — yep, anxiety over regular trash pickup. More on letters and things in (ontemplations. For that “capital C, i.e. the "(", I used the left half of the parentheses pair — call it a “Stretch C“ to spell (ontemplations. In winter, a fellow has to be resourseful - I hope somebody laughed at that “s” joke in “resourseful.” Yeah, that’s my office cat William Powell — we were having a story conference. He asked me to let you know this punctuation and spelling yarn was not his idea. We’ll now segue to cats who’d have a job in our office if we had room.
THE CATS FROM SMU
STILL NEEDING ADOPTION
OK, I was wrong. I thought Braveheart (left) and one-white-whisker Cleo would have been adopted by now.
You may recall their story — taken in from a feral situation on the SMU “East Campus” and placed in foster. But time is running out in foster because the foster people are leaving town on March 4.
As Kim Pierce, my pal from The Feral Cat Group at SMU writes, “We are running out of time, and meanwhile, they get more and more comfortable with the notion of indoor life – and more interested in humans! … Just look at that eye contact!”
The foster reports that Braveheart (left) and Cleo, year-old sisters, are “affectionate and loves pets and scratches. Braveheart is shy but curious and will sit in your lap if you have treats to share. Both sisters are vocal, purr regularly, and will sit near you. They play well together, love looking out the window, enjoy cat videos, and are great ‘hunters’ with ‘prey toys.’ They will need some time to adjust to their forever home but will make great indoor companions for many years to come.” To ask about adopting Cleo and Braveheart, email [email protected] or call 801-403-6911. There’s no fee. A good, loyal home is the requirement.
BIG MAN NEEDS A LOVING,
EXPERIENCED HOME!
You may remember seeing a photo of Big Man from the Mesquite Animal Shelter last week (Feb. 18). I’ve included two photos of the lad today.
His story hit a bump in the road after he was adopted.
Mesquite volunteer dog biographer Debra Chisholm wrote a note Wednesday: “It was with great disappointment to us that Big Man was returned to the Mesquite Shelter on 2/22 from his adopter of 3 days.
“Owner reported that Big Man experienced separation anxiety when he left the house and managed to bolt out the door one of the times so that the adopter had to spend considerable time tracking him down. Big Man was stressed out when he was placed in a wire crate and managed to escape from it.
“Adopter reported that Big Man likes to go for walks and is a sweet and friendly boy but that he just could not contain him and wasn't inclined to help him work through the anxiety, fear and uneasiness that Big Man was experiencing."
It has been a tough time for Big Man. You may recall that he was surrendered to the shelter on Jan. 6 and the reason was his human’s time was being taken over by caring for a sick loved one. He had been with that human since he was a puppy. He’s 2, weighs 54 pounds and is neutered. He’s just a dog looking for a home that will accept him, work with him and won’t expect more of him than a puzzled and uneasy dog has to give.
His Mesquite ID is #49352968. Use that when you call the shelter at 972-216-62893 or email [email protected].
See more adoptable adorables — dogs and cats — at the Mesquite Animal Services Shelter by clicking HERE.
Among the cats is this guy Shere Khan (#49629959). He’s 2years old, a large, red boy and he’s been in the feral room at the shelter since intake on Feb. 19. [LARRY ASIDE: “Feral” doesn’t always mean “always feral” — but it can mean “human investment in loving a cat who isn’t all that keen on loving a human. I’ve know humans and I’ve known cats — easier to change a cat’s mind than that of some humans. Shere Khan is handsome, isn’t he!]
A DOG NAMED ANCHORAGE,
MIGHT FIT THE WEATHER HERE
In the latest report from 4-Legged Helpers about small shelters, this guy Anchorage comes up. He’s in the care of a private animal control in Denton.
And, according to his bio, he’s a 65-pound Alaskan Malamute who “is extremely happy and friendly and loves cuddling and giving hugs.”
And there’s more. He’s said to be an “awesome boy who is already housetrained, walks great on a leash, and can sit on a command. Very laid back guy but seems to love more submissive dogs if there is to be a doggie friend in the home. He would do best in a home without kitties … WONDERFUL WITH KIDS - adores all people.”
Go to the 4-Legged Helpers Facebook page here and you can see animals waiting in small shelters in Ferris, Glenn Heights, etc.
To ask about adopting Anchorage, call or text Laura Macias at 214-9492726 or email [email protected].
CONTEMPLATIONS
ASSORTED C-NOTES & FILMS
Call this an “apology”? When I dreamed up the concept (see first paragraph) of not being able to get consonant and punctuation deliveries from Ellipses, Okla., because of weather, I figured it might be fun to consider how the State of Texas would handle the shortage of consonants in households across the state. In my world, letters and punctuation are just about as important as a constant flow of electricity! Or access to chocolate!
I also figured you needed to know that — any time you’d see a consonant or a semicolon in this edition — you could rest assured that we were using second-hand letters and punctuation because of the shortage. I’d explain that we had to take some second-hand semicolons, turn them over, cut them in half and use them as periods and commas.
Then I’d tell you that the state’s supply of key communication ingredients is overseen by the TCPLS (pronounced “TickPlus, i.e., the Texas Commission on Punctuation and Letter Supply). There are 8 members, all appointed by members of the Texas Appointments Administration. And six of the TickPlus people live in states that have dropped the “t” from proper names such as “Mah-aah-en.” This is called “T-glottalization” — I studied La’un and didnunt encoun’er T-glot in that lingo. But experts say you can hear it in Grey Bri’un where they speak the Queen’s English. Bless her heart.
Yeah, every now and then, in weather that keeps you locked in like it was a raging virus, a fellow can go nuts at the keyboard.
SPEAKING OF WEATHER, and the unpleasantness of driving on ice and snow, I heard a great line from a caller to the WBAP Morning News show (820-AM) with Hal Jay and the team. A caller said he’d parked his truck for the day explained, “You can drive in 4-wheel, but you can’t stop in 4-wheel.”
WANT SOME CHILLS? It turns out that one of the PM movies on cable Wednesday as we were enveloped by cold air and the threat of dangerous ice and freezing rain, was one of my favorite “scary” films: The original (1956) Invasion of The Body Snatchers with Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter. It was written from the book/Colliers Magazine Serial -- anybody buy a Colliers lately? -- by Jack Finney. (That's a "lobby card" for the film.) I didn’t see it -- the movie or the card -- in a theater — but I did see it on late night TV (about 9 p.m. in those days) when I was a kid and I don’t mind formally blaming it, in part, for my lifelong insomnia. I also blame the original Not of This Earth, a Roger Corman film from 1957. If I can’t sleep, I have only myself to blame — and the movie characters who haunt me as if they were based on reality. Cue the spooky music HERE.
— Offer slumber tips or movie tips by clicking on ‘comment’ or by emailing [email protected] and put DON’T WORRY ABOUT MARS in the subject line. —-
