Loud Laughter, Ugliness, and Cat Fur – Thoughts from July 23 to 27, 2024

July 23, 2024

There was a group of people who were talking about 100 feet from me. One member of the group had a laugh he bellowed several times which I could hear from where I was. Eventually, the entire group erupted into laughter at an equal volume to the bellower. Some people enjoy being in those groups, but I don’t. One loud person usually leads them and involves insults about other people in the group. This is just another group in the long list of groups I wouldn’t want to be a part of. It’s the same atmosphere they have at parties. Group discussions break down in the same way. A few people take over most of the conversations and steer the subjects toward topics that interest them. Groups need a focal point, or the loudest person will always take over.

I’m going in for a hearing test this Thursday. What it’s going to do for me I don’t know. My doctor ordered it so I’m going. Part of me hopes there is something they can do to improve the hearing in my left ear. Most of me knows not to get my hopes up. There’s nothing definite I can point to that explains the slow decline only in one ear. I’ll probably find my good ear has declined some as well. If they suggest hearing aids as they did the last time they tested my my hearing, I’ll have to explain how loud noises hurt my bad ear.

July 24, 2024

I celebrate the 24^th of every month this year just like I celebrated the 23^rd of every month last year. What kind of celebration do you do when the day matches the year? It’s the same celebration I do whenever I see a cool number. I take a mental picture of it and smile at having noticed it. If I forget to note it, I mourn the loss of what I missed. Why do I do these things? Why does a weird squirrel do whatever weird squirrels do? We who do weird things do them because they make us happy. Instead of giving thanks to fictional beings, I thank myself for being weird.

Ugly things don’t exist. Nothing is universally ugly to everyone. It is a judgment call that has no scale for something to be considered ugly. You are saying, “In my opinion, this thing is unattractive.” It’s not full-blown disgust. Whatever it is just doesn’t sit right with you. Ugliness is something you can put into a slight scale of ugly, uglier, and ugliest, but it’s still not measurable. There is no scientific chart of ugliness. We made up the word to describe things we find unappealing or even disgusting. At the very least, things we declare to be ugly are not boring. We use the word “ugly” to make our stories more interesting, but it’s only a temporary label until we provide a proper description.

July 27, 2024

Is it me or does it seem like August is only a few days away. We’re almost past summer season and onto Halloween season. Summer doesn’t officially end until September 22, but Halloween decorations and candy will start coming out soon. This just in from our research department. Some retailers have already put out Halloween decorations. Patti and I were in Lowe’s, and they had a ghost pirate and an old-fashioned diving suit. Both looked sufficiently scary. They certainly cornered the market with unique Halloween decorations. They were over $300 a piece. We don’t decorate the outside of our house for anything. Sometimes, we decorate inside the house, but the cats limit what we can do. The cats will knock over or drag through the house anything within their reach soon after we put it out.

Speaking of the cats, I must mention a problem that has gotten worse for me. I wear two masks at night. One is to block the light from the TV that Patti insists be on and the other is a mask for blocking fur into my nose and mouth. The combination of the two masks needs constant adjustment throughout the night. One must be over the other. I’m still finding it hard to breathe during the night. Most mornings, I wake up with a sore throat. I can’t really ignore the effects of the cats on my health. Being allergic to cats would prevent most people from having cats, but I’ve had cats my whole life. I think having four cats is pushing me over the limits of my tolerance. I’m going to try different masks and maybe a humidifier. People at work are saying they work for them.