When I see an animal, the primitive part of my brain immediately classifies it into one of two categories: threat and not a threat. Once my survival instinct determines I am not in immediate mortal danger, the classifications become a little more diverse, being based on how to interact with the animal instead: avoid, eat, examine, or ignore. After this second classification, the more evolved portion of my brain then begins its own analysis: interesting, gross, scary, indifferent, cute, etc..
And it is in the cute category that I classify these baby toads (encountered during the Wisconsin trip), as they are neither a threat, nor worth eating.
It looks like a standard American toad (Anaxyrus americanus). But I think my cute classification will go unopposed.
As we left the campsite to go home we stopped at the checkout building to check out. Mom told us to get out of the car, run accross the parking lot and back, so we did that with Kyrie in front (my older sister) of us with me second and Leigh behind (my younger sister). Kyrie and I were about 1/4 back to the other side when Leigh slipped on the lose gravel and fell on her knee and cut it bad. Dad got out the First Aid kit while Kyrie and and I sat beside her and comforted her. Mom taped some wipes on her knee and we went back in the car.
After a long time, we passed a field of grain gently blowing in the breese. There I saw a cotten field and I wached wires go up and down from the poles that supported them.
Soon, we headed down into a canyon and Leigh looked at this and got mad and wrote “Simon is stoopid.” Now she wrote “he is a persen that lise to say shutup.” She is a weird persen.
We just passed throu Cone city and we are going to Ralls soon. Now that we entered Ralls and we stopped at Dairy Queen so Dad and Kyrie could go to the bath room.
After a little while, Kyrie came out with a sprite, we split it and it was gone in about 30 sec. Leigh then wrote with a different color marker.
As I looked out the window, I saw fields of cotten all over the place! Leigh was making stupid noises inside the car.
I was getting tired so I asked leigh to be quiet so I could get some rest. She said she would so I got comfterbal.
I could not get any sleep. Leigh and Kyrie were fighting again. I looked up and we were in Lubbock So I didn’t mind because we were almoast home.
When we were home, I ran out back to see ‘Fuzzy’ my rabbit and Honey Bunny, Leigh’s rabbit. They were fine. Our neighbors took good care of them. I held Hony Bunny an then I put her back in her hutch. Fuzzy was much to big to hold. She was 4 1/2 years old while Honey Bunny was only 9 weeks 4 days exactly!
The Kyrie came in the back yard a hollard at me to help them unload the stuff. So I went to help them unload stuff.
When we finished that I went in the backyard again. I felt the wind. Leigh burst in and tryed to open the two back doors they were hooked! So we waited and Mom opened the door. I went in and made a paper airplain, tied it to a string on a crossbar that holds our swings on the fort. It was a wind detector.
Soon, Mom told me to come in and take a shower, I did.
When I finished, I came in my room and got dressed I new, clean cloths. I read the comics in the newspaper.
When I finished, Dad told me to dry the dishes, I did as I was told and dryed them.
Then Leigh showed me what she wrote on her blank piece of paper. It was stupid!
Then she came in my room and I sent her out! Good!
This last week, we visited the family cottage. Specifically, it’s my wife’s mother’s father’s, who bequeathed it unto two of his daughters upon moving into assisted living. It’s up near Wausau, WI, which means it’s a looong way to drive.
But 10 hours in a car left me plenty of time to pontificate on how much the radio stations in Midwestern states suck. Interspersed amid the 24/7 bible and country stations are a selection of oldies, but not good classic rock oldies–random oldies.
What I found interested was the ubiquity of these random oldies, as if DJs everywhere had attended an annoying music summit and agreed upon a selection. For example, as we approached the western border of Ohio, on came Dexys Midnight Runners’ “Come On Eileen”, a song I feel is safe to classify as a one hit wonder.
We seem to have a mixed relationship with British music
This time, it made me smile briefly. I commented to Liz that the song was an odd choice, and we discussed it for a moment, for as I stated, the car ride was long, so conversational topics tended to arise out of any minor stimuli to break the tedium.
Later, somewhere in Indiana, the song came on again. I thought that was unusual, since by then we were cruising different radio stations. Then we heard it again in Illinois. At that point, we were in the heart of the Midwest, and though the nation might hate Ohio as a whole, at least we have a more diverse culture. But in Illinois, we didn’t have more than one rock station available, so we endured it.
Then we heard the song again in Wisconsin, and at this point began to debate why this song was suddenly so popular again. All I can conclude is that, since it released in the 80s, and music in the 80s was terrible, it’s a song for which the aging disco-era weirdos feel nostalgic. Who knows?
In accordance with Lets Encrypt’s 90-day certificate expirations (as mentioned previously), here we go again. Fear not, the Certificate Mismatch warning is normal. But again, for the paranoid, here are the fingerprints to verify:
About 15 minutes later, we arrived a Texas Tech [I actually used the official symbol here] university at the Biology building where my dad, Daryl, works. We parked the car in our space and my mom, Carol, ran in the building while the rest of us waited in the car.
A minute later, my mom came out. She got in the car and we left. Kyrie and Leigh were fighting and screaming for a reason I did not know. After a little while, Carol, and Daryl I guess got pretty sick and tired of it and yelled at them. That settled it.
Later, we drove down into a canyon that I thought was the edge of the caprok. But I looked at my watch and only one hour had passed so I settled down in and relaxed and looked out the window.
A while later, mom threw on me some star Burst [I included the registered trademark symbol] and Leigh decited aloud in which order she was going to eat them.
Soon, we stoped, moved up a hill and read a hick starical marker [this may have been an intentional misspelling–a Moorheadism], then off we went. I decided I would go to sleep.
