What a beautiful day it is with deep blue skies and warm sun. Today is spring in all its glory. When Gracie comes in from the yard, her fur is warm to the touch. She sleeps in the sun in the back of the yard on the tall grass. It is her morning perch on glorious days like today. Fern is asleep in the sun streaming through the front door and Maddie, also by the door, grabs the very small bit of sun Fern doesn’t use. Today is animal day as I need to shop at Agway for all of them: cat food, litter, dry and canned dog food, dog and cat treats and thistle and suet for the birds. I’ll need a small loan to pay for all of it. As for me, I’m thinking of that bacon, cheddar and avocado sandwich I had last week. That will be my treat.

Last night was trivia night, and we didn’t win. We weren’t even close. One of the questions was what year Dakota Fanning was born. A teammate said she’d never even heard of her. I gave a bit of background and said she was 19. We subtracted that from 2013 and guessed 1994. I was right. I have no idea why I knew that answer. That will always remain one of life’s mysteries. Another question asked for the last state admitted to the union before Alaska and Hawaii. I knew it was Arizona, and I even knew it was in 1912. Sometimes I get to the kitchen and forget why I’m there, but I don’t forget Dakota Fanning’s age. Life is strange sometimes.

Say it, don’t spray it is a put-down from my childhood. The other day it popped into my head from who knows which part of my memory drawers, but it got me thinking about all those put-down we used which have now disappeared. They were really innocent as were we, but they did the job. Ask too many questions and one of us would want to know if you were writing a book. To call someone a closet case back then had nothing to do with sexual identity. Don’t have a cow is a favorite of mine. It really makes no sense, but we all understood its meaning. Sometimes we’d call a kid a spaz. I think that’s what I still am. Odd ball is another. Hold your fist in front of someone’s face and offer him a knuckle sandwich. The threat was generally declined. Being accused of having cooties was about the worst. Once that started, it became a refrain, a schoolyard taunt.

This morning my sister said, “You owe me a coke,” because we both had said the same thing at the same time, and she was quicker in throwing out the coke line. That and spitting were the start of this whole musing.

When was the last time you called dibs?

See you later alligator!