A Couple of Thoughts Re Session 63 & 64 (Tuesday's Truths WK 182)

MUTTS'S CHARACTERS ARE FEATURED THROUGHOUT MY  BLOG

For this 182nd segment of my Tuesday's Truths series, I confess that (in the midst of this coronavirus  pandemic) it has been hard for me to focus on my projects, which I find distressing.

In terms of this blog, I had big goals set aside for 2020, which I mentioned at the onset of the new year, but now it seems I'm having a great struggle to think about anything but the impact of COVID-19. Like Earl, the dog featured in the Mutts comic strip atop this entry, I'm questioning how to clear my mind and focus on other mattes besides the #ClapBecauseWeCare tributes that I've participated in since two days after they began this past March.

The tributes and the reasoning behind them are very important and I'm glad to pay homage to these events and to the people for whom we do them, but I recognize, I must get back to focusing on my writing projects as time is marching on with out me.

Going forward re this blog, I hope to continue to draw attention to the #ClapBecauseWeCare efforts, but also get back to what I was trying to accomplish pre-COVId-19.

Monday's Musings: Session 34 (5/3/2020)

Yesterday afternoon the temperatures were higher than they have been for quite some time causing people to want to get outside but restrictions to do so (because of the coronavirus pandemic) are still in place and people are still encouraged to stay home and shelter in place as much as possible.

I have been following those guidelines since the evening of 3/21/2020 and have only gone out about four times for a two-four block distance.

The lockdown is easier for me to follow because I have a garden, but, truly up until yesterday I have not been able to sit in it very long as it has been either raining or too cold.

BUT yesterday, as I've said, the temperatures were warm.

Therefore I sat in my garden (which is the setting for my book series Words In Our Beak*) ) and noticed that a man across the courtyard had found a work around to shelter in place yet enjoy the sunshine: He stuck his feet out his window (as seen in the image atop this entry).

Over the past several evenings I've seen him participate in #ClapBecauseWeCare sessions so I amused myself with the thought that maybe he would clap with his feet during our evening session but alas when evening came, he did not clap with his feet, or even participate, but others did.

#ClapBecauseWeCare Session Twenty

A CAT NAMED SNOOZE

The sweet looking cat seen in the photo atop this entry belongs Giuseppe and Teresa, a couple who lives in the building next store to me who I met during a #ClapBecauseWeCare session.

Sunday's Sentiment: National Black Cat Day (An Excuse to Celebrate Black Squirrels Too?)

Today is National Black Cat Day. According to many sources, including holidayscalendar.com, this occasion is "celebrated on October 27th, just four days before Halloween... National Black Cat Day is a holiday which celebrates an animal (who) has an image problem. Black cats are not only considered bad luck in the United States but they are also one of the cats that is the least likely to be adopted...

While no one is exactly sure when National Black Cat Day was founded, what is known is that the attitudes about these particular felines are different during different parts of history and in different parts of the world. For example, in Great Britain and Japan, a black cat is considered good luck. However, in the United States, it has come to symbolize bad luck or evil forces. In some parts of the world, if a black cat crosses your path, then it’s considered to be a bad omen. In folklore, black cats are often depicted as agents of evil or even evil itself. In some parts of Europe, they were considered so evil that they were burned alive by superstitious villagers in giant midsummer bonfires..."

I don't have a black cat (or any cat for that matter), but I do have a figurine of someone dressed as a black cat for Halloween.

He/she can be modeling his/her costume in the pictures atop this entry.

Saturday in the PARKS

IMAGE CREDIT

On a number of occasions when I've spent part of my Saturday in the park, be it Central Park or Riverside Park, the song, Saturday in the Park, by the band, Chicago comes to my mind, and I referenced this fact in prior posts here on Blogger.

Today, October 19, 2019, I will be spending part of my morning in Brooklyn's Prospect Park and part of my afternoon in Manhattan's Central Park; hence my title for this entry, Saturday in the PARKS.

My plan is to publish an entry re any findings in both places within the coming days, most likely on this coming Friday, October 25th.

Meanwhile in terms of reading material that might peak your interest, dear reader, please allow me  leave for today with a referral (see info directly below) to two of my articles that have recently been published by author and editor, Mike Miskin, for his on-line newsletter/magazine, IlovetheUpperWestside.com

MY ARTICE (PUBLISHED OCTOBER 18 2019)

MY ARTICLE (PUBLISHED OCOBER 11 2019)

Two WKS Ago Today

Anyone who has worked on a waitstaff, eaten in a restaurant, owned a cat, or owned a dog will surely appreciate this strip by the talented Patrick McDonnell. It appeared in my in-box two weeks ago and I'm overdue in sharing!

It's Halloween: Eat, Drink & Be Scary!

Halloween is here, the day to EAT, DRINK, &  BE SCARY! If you've been following my cyber venues over the past fifteen days, you undoubtedly have noticed that in addition to giving voice to the flora which grows in my urban garden, as well as the array of birds that visit it, I've been reporting on the antics of characters who've come to spend time with me for Halloween.

Some of these guys and gals have been visiting me for a number of years, and their scenarios have been documented in entries here on Blogger as well as tumblr, and on hometalk, under the following titles: Boo! Halloween in Both my Urban Terrace & Indoor Gardens,  Halloween Decor Indoors (mostly), Group B Wins The Coin Toss, Group A Wins The Second Coin Toss, Group C  Wins 3rd Coin Toss, Conclusion of Follow-Up Halloween Decor, Honoring National Pumpkin Day With a Contest in My Garden, and At Halloween and Always, Make New Friends, Keep the Old 

And this year, a few newcomers have graced my home with their presence. They include a fellow who insists he's no mummy's boy, a few witches (one named Ms. Grim one who wears a yellow cape, one who calls herself Queen of The Night, one who has bat wings, and one named Annie McFanny). Additionally some newcomers have come dressed as OZ characters, one wearing a Winged-Monkey costume, the others dressed up as Glinda and Dorothy. Moreover, this past Saturday, a character dressed as a black cat stopped by with information on this type of feline's plight on Halloween.

Other newcomers here who have yet to be featured in any of my cyber-venue postings are as follows: Mr. Pinstripes, a young girl in a pumpkin cape, and some one dressed as a prisoner.  

The latter of these individuals is usually here for Valentine's Day when he claims to be a Prisoner of Love.

Black Cats and Halloween

One of my Halloween visitors is getting an early start  on tomorrow's holiday, which is National Candy Corn Day, an event that is always celebrated on October 30th. I plan to post something about it at the time of the actual celebration, but this guy prefers to take his large piece of candy corn now. He does not like to go out on Halloween or Mischief Night (which coincides with National Candy Corn Day) and I understand his trepidation.