Is The Grass Greener On The Other Side?

In my hometown I kept seeing these political signs in yards and one in particular was for a guy whose name was very familiar. When I saw his picture in the newspaper, my suspicions were verified. It was a guy I had dated years ago.

He was moderatly nice looking, a clean cut guy with a very good job. Some of my friends told me that he wanted to date me and I just wasn't interested but I finally gave in and went on a date with him.

Never have I met a more dull person. He was nervous around me and he knew we were terribly mismatched. A pop culture reference might put it in better perspective: Imagine Pee Wee Herman dating Cyndi Lauper. Can you believe that Pee Wee took Cyndi home to meet his Mother on our first date?

Anyway, after that first date he was really getting interested in me. I didn't want to hurt his feelings, but after a few phone calls I finally did tell him that it wasn't going to work out. I later found out through mutual friends that I was his first love and he was very hurt that it didn't work out between us.

So, back to the signs in the yards. Mr Dullsville is currently running for State Representative. And I go back to the question I've asked myself a few times over the years. Would I have been happier making a life with a stable, dull, reliable, unsexy, responsible, but boring guy? Or did I do the right thing by following my heart and marrying the guy who brought loads of fun, adventure and spontaneity to my life?

Of course I know the answer, but I did wonder about it for just a wee moment.

"There is a Light that shines beyond all things on earth, beyond us all, beyond the heavens, beyond the highest, the very highest heavens, this is the Light that shines in our heart" - Chandoyga Upanishad

Getting ready to take Mother to her gynecology checkup in a moment.... Until then I have movies on my mind. This is the time of year when all the blockbusters come out, but I usually watch movies at home and there's been some good ones on HBO and CineMax lately.

Last night I finally saw The Notebook. Oh, my. Get out the kleenex. Such a tender movie. And last weekend I saw the Wedding Crashers, which I thought was funny and The 40-Year-Old Virgin which had me actually screaming out loud. I thought of Robin and how she would have laughed at this movie, too. Oh, and last night I was up until 4:00 watching a 1995 film, Suburbia, with Parker Posey and others. Lots of good stuff on the tube lately.

So what are you watching?

Happy Birthday to my dear daughter, Skyler Laurel, today. She is 18 years old. She's celebrating by going to a concert tonight to see a band called "Taking Back Sunday" in Charlotte, NC, and has already left with friends Sam and Heather. She's very excited about it.

And in another month or so she'll be going to OzFest again. It's an annual trek she's made 3 previous times with the same group of friends.

Everybody Needs Somebody

It's good when you have pets that you have more than one. Then they have a playmate and aren't so lonely. Two cats like Shirl has is a good way to go. And now I have two dogs. Mine and Robin's. Robin's dog, Sugar is so smart. My dog, Buddy, well.. "bless his heart" as they say here in the south; the phrase that's usually followed by someone's shortcomings.

When I ask Buddy, a male chow/retriever mix, if he wants to go outside or if he wants to eat I get the same response. So I open the door for him and open a can of dog food and see which one he responds to. But I adore him.

Robin's female black cocker spaniel, Sugar, is as bright as can be. Sometimes when she gets excited she turns around in a circle. I looked at her earlier and made a circle motion with my finger & hand, asked her to turn around and she did so promptly. You show her something once and she totally gets it. She seems to understand exactly what you say to her.

They have fun playing together, fighting over toys and chasing each other. Everybody needs somebody. This goes for pets, too.