Christmas Does That To People.

In October the stores will decorate for Thanksgiving. In November the stores will decorate for Christmas. But in December they keep the decorations up until after the 25th. You ever notice that, Brooks? Sometimes retailers will start stringing lights and cardboard reindeer on Halloween night. It becomes an assault on the senses; Discounts on sweets, music playing from the ceiling and even the Christmas smells. It's all done with purpose and all retailers do it at once. You ever wonder who plans it this way?

Black Friday was the early morning I saw the mouse eyes of 66. Black pupils ... impressive coincidence. Life said something with that one, "This is your fate and this is my message."  A black day of greed, selfishness & the insatiable hunger of fat sheep. And Life presented me with eyes that mirror the absolute soullessness of it all. I was so thankful. I followed and planned for 66 the entire weekend.

A day in the life of a regular person can be entertaining. Every detail we all take for granted is droll automation. I find it similar to babies enjoying colors from the television screen. 66 lingered by a snack machine and I imagined the same result from staring into an open refrigerator. There was no real hunger, it was pure boredom and I find it curious that someone might fill their tedious void with mere food.

I chuckled to myself, made a game of a snack choice decision by narrating the words 66 might say ...

"Cluster bar? Nutty. Chocolate. Would finish it in 30 seconds and then I'd want more."
"Chips? Messy. Would last me til I get back to the car though."
"Did I fart? Getting old. Farts just fall out of me now."
"A Pepsi might work. I'm not thirsty, but at least the farting would be by mouth."

... you know you want to laugh, Brooks.

Oh, I befriended a stray cat. I called him Vito. He looked like a Vito. He curled up in my lap while we followed 66 here and there and back again. So talkative ... He likes dehydrated fruit, which is odd for a carnivore. I was always told they only eat meat, but Vito has ate peas with me too.  He climbs around and under the seats when we drive, but mostly he likes the lap or windows.

I still have the car from my extended recess in Missouri, if you must know. It growled along with a rusted muffler, rattling the license plates on the floorboard. I became fond of the sound. I made a comfortable use of it too, but it wouldn't survive my next trip. You can find it tucked away in the pilot parking lot of 3PL with 66 and little Vito. Take good care of him. He can be a monster sometimes, but he's quite good around children.

We made several stops on our last day. 66 returned to the same ATM twice in an hour. Sadly there was only three dollars in the billfold during our long conversation. We chatted for hours, shared some tears and I had a good laugh or two ... "sleigh bells ring, are you listening" ... You'll see what I mean when you open the car door.  Just remember, Vito had to eat something.