One and Done Sunday #15

This week I came across a post on Not-So-Wicked Step Mom where the author confessed to not knowing of a Narwhal’s authenticity. I’m not talking like, a specific Narwhal, maybe one without proper identification or one that was behaving like a gazelle or otherwise being a poseur. I mean she didn’t know that Narwhals were not imaginary until she walked in on her family watching a documentary about them.

I had to confess that I didn’t know, either. I didn’t know until I read her post.

Is it because I grew up in Indiana, sans Diego and sans Wonder Pets? I definitely never saw one in a zoo. I certainly learned more world geography than Narwhal facts (and that’s saying something).

In fact, the only time I had ever heard of a Narwhal before reading this post was in the Archie McPhee catalogue, purveyors of all things hilarious and ironic. They used to have a Narwhal/Unicorn death battle action figure playset. I believe I drew my own conclusion.

CC says it’s because I’m blond.

I asked #4 and #5 :Narwhal, real or imaginary?

#5: Real.

#4: Real. I know a song about a Narwhal.

Me: Really?

#4: Yeah. Narwhal, narwhal, swimmin’ in the ocean, causin’ a commotion, cause you’re so awesome.

Me: Huh.

Then later this week, we went to the elementary school for parent-teacher conferences. Outside one of the classrooms was a display of kid projects on ocean animals. Guess what was represented? It wasn’t no damn unicorn.

*sigh*.

Here’s your picture. I took it with my phone last night to demonstrate how awesome I am to go with this post. Saturday night on Broadway, waiting near the subway for my husband to finish his show. I’m set up with a seltzer and a stack of critiques for my writing group.

Do I know how to live, or what?

Also, I could use a manicure.

Here are your links.

A really damn good list of dating hints for teenage boys: Given Breath: Pick You Up At Seven.

The pros and cons of dating a yogi (what you should know before you get into it): The View From My Mat

Musings from the mind of a three-year-old: Coffee Powered Mom.

I never watch videos, but I howled at this one. Henri the Existential Housecat. (Julie from Go Guilty Pleasures sent me this link.)

And again, I never watch videos, but this one is so awesome I sat through the whole damn thing and it makes me want to take a trip to LA. It’s worth your time. I’m linking through the blog I found it on, Steadily Skipping Stones: Caine’s Arcade.

Jack Otis and Casey McCrea, Geniuses

If they had business cards, that’s what would be printed on them.

What? Yes, I know dogs don’t have business cards. In no small part because they have no thumbs. But I’m thinking about getting them little tags for their collars because they’re so, so smart.

What? No, I don’t believe for a second that we’re the only family who gave their dogs middle names.

Not only are my dogs smart, they are terribly aware. Observe:

lookingthewrongway — Looking the wrong way.

We’re puggles. We’re so smart. Hey, look! Grass!

missingthedeer — What was twenty feet from them in the other direction.

No, we don’t need to look the other way. What could possibly be in the other direction? We’re puggle geniuses.

deer — Completely at ease, with good reason.

Nothing gets by us! We’re geniuses! Did I mention we’re puggles?

Below is the deer’s reaction to me taking pictures. My dogs actually did not notice the deer until after they stood up.

Then Casey lunged, and the deer bolted. Mama went one way, babies went the other way.

I say babies, but they’re practically grown. They were babies last year and we would see them in this part of the cemetery while we were walking the dogs. The dogs didn’t see the deer then, either.

Now the babies are losing their fawnliness.

Yep, any day now these fawns will realize that they’re full grown. That they probably should get full-time jobs; maybe go to summer school.

blendin — You can't see me. I blend right in.

don'tlook — Don't look at me. Don't look at me. Don't look at me.

They’ll realize how awesome it would be if they started cleaning the kitchen without being asked and stopped leaving their shoes in a death trap pile at the bottom of the stairs so their stepmama deer doesn’t break her damn neck.

They’ll buy their stepmama deer Godiva.

The extra dark truffle bar.

Hmmm. Where was I?

Oh right.

Geniuses.

Releasing the Salamanders (no, that’s not a euphemism).

#5 went on a camping trip this weekend. It was the first time he’d spent the night away since he came to live with us. It was unnerving, having him gone. But he returned on Sunday with salamanders.

CC and I are up way too late, sucked in to Kill Bill like we are every time it comes on. It’s my turn to get up with the kids in the morning.

Me: Whoa. There is some serious salamander activity next to me here.

CC: In what way?

Me: There was a splash.

One salamander is still at the bottom of the bowl, but the other is very determinedly attempting to get out.

splash.

Me: Dude is getting out of that bowl for sure. What should we do?

CC: {sigh}

Me: Really. What do you do with a salamander? I feel a tremendous sense of obligation for these little guys.

CC: Fine. Get the car keys. I’ve had two scotches and half a bottle of wine. You’re driving.

Me: Okay, but you have to carry them.

CC: Oh sure. Make the impaired guy carry the salamanders.

I pause to take a picture.

We have a park near our house that has both a pond and a stream. It’s a nice park. A great place to release your salamanders. Except it’s the kind of park that has police who notice and come to question you if you’re there after dark.

Me: Wait, these aren’t like zebra mussels are they?

CC: No. Get in the car.

We go out to the car- me, CC, and two salamanders.

Me: You know, there’s an X-Files episode about this.

CC: No there isn’t.

Me: Yes there is.

CC: About dumping salamanders out in a pond?

Me: No, but about salamanders. This guy who has it out for Mulder gets worked on at prison by some crazy doctor and he gives him a salamander hand, thereby proving my theory once again.

CC: Which is?

Me: That you can name pretty much anything, and there’s an X-Files episode about it.

CC: {silence}

Me: The end.

CC: {silence}

Me: Don’t drop the salamanders.

CC: I’m not going to drop the salamanders. They’re going to get eaten by fish the instant we set them free.

Me: No they won’t.

CC: Yes they will.

Me: Well, better to be eaten by a fish than by one of the puggles, which would cost us $400 and three days of emotional duress while they’re hooked up to an I.V. at the vet.

CC: We’re going to get arrested for this on some eco-violation. They’re going to come and arrest #5, and all the rangers that took him on the camping trip, and we’re going to have to sell the house and move into some tiny apartment where we don’t all fit to pay remediation costs to remove and restore these two salamanders to Western New Jersey.

Me: I’m pretty sure we don’t have that much equity in the house.

CC: {sigh}

Me: I forgot my flashlight. Also, I’m in flip-flops.

CC: Can we just drop them in the pond instead of the creek? The last thing I need to do is break a frickin’ ankle tonight.

Me: This decision of where to drop them probably is the single most important thing that will determine their length of life, isn’t it?

CC: Who cares? The cops are gonna be here any minute. “What’s that, officer? No, sir, we’re just taking our bowl for a walk. We do it all the time.”

We dump them.

Into the pond.

One stays put. The other heads for dry land.

I like to think he was the jumper.

Me: I wonder how long it’s going to take #5 to figure out they’re gone.

CC: About as long as it takes him to cross the floor. He did leave them on the kitchen table. It’s going to be the first thing he checks when he wakes up.

Me: Yeah.

CC: {laughs}

Me: What?

CC (re-enacting our first phone call eleven years ago when he was interviewing me to be his assistant on the Aida tour): So, I’ll hire you for the gig. In like, eleven years, you’re going to be dumping two salamanders out of a cereal bowl into a park pond in New Jersey while looking out for cops. I have no idea what happens between these two events. You still want the gig?

For the record, I still would have taken the gig.