Hello Dear Hearts!

Did everyone have a great Fourth Of July? Hope so!

I didn't get to go to Enigma for their fireworks show, 'cause T-Bird has a flying bud who flies some sort of stunt plane, and goodness knows we can't miss that (dripping with sarcasm). But he did put on a good show.
Of course, one of the perks of being friends with the airport manager here is that we got to watch the fireworks show at the airport. They shoot 'em off at one of our parks that is conveniently located next to the airport. Since they rope off the airport to keep spectators off of the runways, we get good seats without the crowd. We also have local cops who patrol the area during the Fourth celebration. One stopped and sat with us to eat his supper in peace.
We were sitting under a security light that was drawing some interesting insects, and we were complaining about the bugs. The nice officer offered to shoot out the light if we wished. But the manager declined the offer. After all, he would have to explain THAT to the city, and replace the thing.
Two years ago before he took that job, he was fussing about the light that was over his hangar door. If he and T-Bird were working on the plane at night, they had to fight off bugs. Another pilot went to his truck, pulled out his pistol, and shot the light out. Problem solved! What are friends for?

The county put on a good show, and we headed home when the traffic cleared. When we got to the neighborhood, our neighbors were shooting off their own fireworks, and we found both cats cowering in the kitchen. I had forgotten that they flip out on the Fourth of July, and then flip out again on New Years Eve when every gun in the county is fired. They settled down when they realized that Momma and Daddy were home, but not much.
We got up this morning and were watching t.v. when they showed some footage of fireworks shows across the country. That scared the dickens out of the cats again, and they were nervous all morning. You couldn't take a step without trippin' over a fur-ball.

They had just settled down when the storm hit. It poured rain, and at one point it hailed. Pea-sized hail stones don't do too much damage, thank heaven, so the vehicles and the garden were okay. But the thunder and lightenin' was MOST impressive. Every time there was a loud clap of thunder, the cats went on high alert. Then the storm got baaaaad. There was a sudden gust of wind that whistled through the air conditioner, and both cats disappeared. *POOF* GONE!
I didn't blame them at this point, and the thunder that jarred my trailer scared the crap out of me, too. And then, we lost power.
I looked out the front door, and there was Gerald from across the street, lookin' out his front door. With just his shirt on. WITHOUT his pants. WITHOUT underwear.
Time to shut the damned door. Aliens could have landed in the middle of the road, or they could have held the Rose Parade on my street. It just wouldn't be worth it to look out again. It's not the first time I've seen this sight, but I do hope it will be the last. If you're thinkin', "What is wrong with that man?", don't ask me. I'm clueless here.

When the storm broke we went to the grocery store for cat food. If music soothes the savage beast, cat food soothes the nervous one. I walked by the magazine rack on my way to the pet food department and saw a teenaged boy reading a magazine. Usually, this does not rate a comment, but this one was wearing a football helmet. With a face-guard. I was in and out of Harveys in record time. Today it rained cats and dogs, hailstones, and assorted nuts.

Yep. Assorted nuts. Plural. Another nutcase started screaming at a train passing through town. Then threw rocks at it. I think what prompted the engineer to call 911 was when he actually JUMPED onto the side of the train. Last I heard on the scanner, the cops were lookin' for him.

I am going to bed now. Me and the cats are gonna share some sedatives.