15 Comments
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Gene Wood's avatar

A truly fun story!

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Walter Rhein's avatar

Thanks Gene!

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Untrickled by Michelle Teheux's avatar

Maybe I should describe my midwestern routine. I’m the eccentric dog-walker lady character.

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Walter Rhein's avatar

:) So am I on many days!

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Suzanne Whitaker's avatar

Aw, you make me laugh! I could envision the whole thing… also, makes me miss my old 1928 house back in Cincinnati and the deer families in my backyard. We never did replace the windows. It would have certainly blocked the noise of the four lane road we lived on. Thank you for this. 💕🦌

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Walter Rhein's avatar

Thanks Suzanne!

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D Kitterman's avatar

Walter, via your missives, one can see that you are an unusually kind, thoughtful, and observant man. What a relief it is to read you.

Peace to you and your loved ones as we all try to enjoy the wonders of this holiday season before the shit hits the fan.

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Walter Rhein's avatar

Thank you, that's very nice. I'm trying to enjoy the holiday season as well. My kids are still at home so these days are precious. :)

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Suzanne Whitaker's avatar

Gosh, it does feel like we are all sitting here, holding our breath, waiting for what’s about to hit. It’s reminding me of this old film where the people knew an asteroid or a planet was headed straight for earth and they were going to be destroyed. Wish I could remember the name. It’s hard not to sit in fear, hard to manage thoughts and feelings. Looking for humor wherever I can these days. Stories like this one really brings it home in a most positive way.

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Walter Rhein's avatar

I think you’re talking about Don’t Look Up.

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Suzanne Whitaker's avatar

Oh, it was Melancholia, 2011

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Greg Sanford's avatar

Simple escapist. Thank you, I needed that

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D Kitterman's avatar

Wishing to address the wasp issue, and as a 70 year old beekeeper/hornet remover woman, let me introduce you to the idea that wasps and hornets are about 90% less dangerous than folks think and become hysterical about (unless allergic for which an always on-hand epi-pen is de riguer) Such stinging insects are beneficial and usually only sting when threatened or accidentally encountered. They are the vultures of the insect world, cleaning up dead (and not dead) insects. Yellow jackets are worse in some ways, but if you had a dead fish on your sidewalk, yellow jackets would clean that mess up before you could even break out the frying pan. Myself, I remove all manner of flying insects from the interior of my 130 year old house windows with a small jelly jar over the visitor and a post card under, and I take them outside to freedom. Sometimes I offer them a little honey or water on the end of a chopstick first, which they seem grateful for. Most folks are unaware that 76% of all flying insects are gone, globally, and the effects have been trickling down for decades. Anyone over 65 recalls having to constantly scrub the dead bug glub from their car windshields. We don't have that anymore because the bugs are gone. Now 50% of the birds are gone, and amphibians, too.

Lastly, let me offer that watching wasps and hornets create their nests is how humans learned how to make paper.

A holiday toast to our insects!

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Walter Rhein's avatar

I hear you. I’ll move in that direction. I’ve already switched to humane traps for the rodents. I’ll do my best to improve and use humane traps for future stinging insects. My kids are bigger these days, so they can handle insects better :)

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Dan Beach's avatar

Writing as it should be.

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