Saturday, November 28, 2009

GOBBLE GOBBLE HEY


Gabba gabba we accept you, we accept you one of us!

Gabba gabba we accept you, we accept you one of us!

—"Pinhead"
by The Ramones




Every Thanksgiving I pose for a blog photo, me smiling (sort of) with a turkey pulled from the oven, a turkey that I did not cook. Afterward, while examining the pic in its unaltered digital form, I try to come up with something witty to write, or serious, the usual we-have-so-much-to-be-thankful-for message.

And we do.

But this year, while greeting my wife’s family at the front door, I did what I’ve been doing for most of November: I checked on the Praying Mantis hanging outside our living room window. I felt the brick for warmth to see why he (yeah, I assigned a gender) did not succumb to the cold weather. And, in nontraditional form, the wife snapped a picture.

I’m no longer involved with the elementary schools’ Science Olympiad insect program; therefore, I no longer order Mantid egg casings from the North Carolina biological society. Not that it matters, these mantids have been reproducing for the past four years anyway. I wonder why this little critter is still alive. It’s as if he’s making a statement about Global Warming, about our changing climate.

Al Gore may have raised awareness regarding this issue; however, my concerns are more immediate. Did I install the nine windows on my house correctly, or is there warm air seeping through the caulk, giving this little guy more life than he deserves?

14 comments:

Beth said...

Global warming or your windows – which is worse?
Sometimes, it just depends on the kind of day you’re having. ;)

Lou said...

Sorry to intrude on your T-Day interlude from the House of Bipolar, Schizoeffective Disease, and Aberrant Personalities Disorder. I read your previous post and I know from experience these are indeed the "reasons" for breaking the law in 2009.

Anyway, just want to say you tell it like it is about prison. I wish I didn't know that, but..

Anonymous said...

I would blame it on heat being lost from the window but hey you are one of them. Celebrate. Like the shirt. MW

Whitenoise said...

I dunno... to me it appears that he wants to be sedated...

Erik Donald France said...

Those little buggers are way cool, no matter what the cause. I remember seeing SSTs flying over London, and thinking they looked just like the Mantis, lumbering into the air.

The Few, the Proud, The Ramones. Man, I have that same shirt (a clone) . . . And we ain't even in wheelchairs. Will all those wee-uns know who the Ramones are still? Yet another good reason to post blogs -- cultural survival.

the walking man said...

I say the windows are leaking but that means the house is breathing.

wallace woodman said...

Diffusion is the movement of solute from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration. This is just a theory, but maybe some of the hot air you deal with every day has diffused from your place of work to your place of habitation. Like I said it is a theory. The man who drives the purple mobile has an abundance of hot air and the excess must go somewhere. If it did follow you home the manis is utilizing it to his benefit and god bless the little fella (since you assigned it a gender). Now that we have a theory about the hot air, we can begin working on what do do with all of the bullsh**. I hope I bring a smile to your face with my venom. Have a great day, tell Danny Glover and the rest I say,"Happy Holidays"

Anonymous said...

Dunno, suspect air leakage from there windows.

jodi said...

JR-caulk those windows even tho the Farmer's predicts a mild one. I love the t-shirt. I cut Joey R's hair once--and will blog about it sometime. Thanks for the remider. Happy Turkey Day!

Lana Gramlich said...

Do you plastic your windows shut from the inside over the Winter, or is that just a Canadian thing?
Regardless, I like the mantis. As things cool off, insects get more & more lethargic. Maybe that's why "he's" hanging around...

Rick said...

You're just having one of those days, aren't you, JR?

ivan said...

I get etymology mixed up with entymology.
What does the praying mantis mean?

And as I get drunker, what did he say?

Julie said...

Somehow, I knew you'd crack me up today, JR. Sorry I'm slow to say Happy Thanksgiving. Not much internet access in the past few days. Or did I say it last week? I can't remember what I did ten minutes ago.

I love the Ramones. I also love the movie they reference with a creepy sort of love. It was actually quite controversial back in that day. I'm not so sure about Al Gore's carbon footprint, either. I wish he had to live like I do for a year. That would cool his jets. Anyway, I hope you had a great vacation.

Four Dinners said...

If you had any idea what Gobble means in the UK you'd understand why I'm still giggling here.....;-)

It's not that I mind globla warming particularly, I just wish it'd warm up a bit over here!!!!!

Right...time for me sedation