Tag: Hump Day

Thanksgiving Eve is as Thanksgiving Eve Does

~ John W. Howell ~ 25 Comments

Thanksgiving

Wednesday seems to come quicker every week. I guess that is a good thing considering it is the first time in the week we think about being able to make the weekend. This week is kind of special in it is Thanksgiving Eve. I’m not sure anyone really thinks of a particular day in this manner. Hey, it is better than just letting the day before Thanksgiving go by without notice. In honor of Thanksgiving Eve I’m going to tell a little story on Fiction Favorites about “The Night before Thanksgiving.” Before I start, I need to set the mood. Ready? Okay here goes; a nice fire is in the fireplace, cats, dogs, kids and family gathered around.  Cranberry scone and a mug of hot pumpkin spice toddy (give me some slack, this is fiction) is in your hand. The CD player is set up with one-hundred of your favorite Thanksgiving songs and the soft Thanksgiving lights are twinkling on the Thanksgiving tree. I think we are there. Here is the story:

 

The night before Thanksgiving,

 

All around the place.

 

The family has gathered,

 

In every inch of space.

 

The turkey is soaking,

 

To thaw in water base.

 

The drinks, food are bought,

 

Stored, guarded by mace.

 

Teenagers seem quiet,

 

New games of face?

 

Mother-in–law has advice,

 

Need a fly to chase.

 

Dad in the cups,

 

Never liked that vase.

 

Sis is complaining,

 

Husband left, no trace.

 

Still it’s good,

 

Thanksgiving embrace.

 

Happy Thanksgiving y’all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy is as Happy Does

~ John W. Howell ~ 22 Comments
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CoCo demands a treat BEFORE being brushed not after
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Lucy is thinking about maybe going for a walk if the sun is not too bright

Wednesday arrives and with it some nice news about one of my fur family members. All our pets are rescues and in one way or another found us as caregivers.

Our Boxer came to us through the Austin Boxer Rescue organization where my wife was volunteering as a foster mom. Her name is Lucy and she had been struck by a car on the streets of San Antonio. She had been pretty well cared for, but was abandoned. She has taken over our couch and bed for the last two years.

Our Silky Terrier CoCo came to us through the San Antonio Animal shelter. She had also been abandoned and left on her own for about five weeks or so. She has been with us for six years.

The good news is CoCo has had her second cancer surgery in the last twelve months. The reason this is good news; CoCo is a very happy, full of life, dog who deserves all the chances she can get for a full life. Once out of surgery, she is as normal as when she went in. Oh yes, we need to give her some medicine and remind her not to scratch, but for all intents and purposes she is the same.

Why I mention this is, if she were any different and if her quality of life no longer remained high, I would do what every responsible pet lover should do and that is cease the extraordinary measures to keep her alive. I made the decision to wait and see how she was after surgery and I am delighted that she is happy and carefree.

Should the tumors return I will do extraordinary measures until such time as it is no longer a loving act.

Some folks must wonder why people place such a premium on the health and welfare of their pets. There could be criticism by those who think animals are not worthy of our concern. I can understand how they feel, but my position is a living being can teach humans a lesson in mercy, grace, and selfless concern for others. These are all things if kept in mind, humans and animals alike would be better off.

A friend of mine who was dying of cancer said to me before he passed, “the only good thing about this is I won’t have to outlive my pets.” Sometimes I wish we could all have pets that outlived us instead of the other way around.

Happy Hump Day Y’all.

Midweek is as Midweek Does

~ John W. Howell ~ 22 Comments

Wednesday

Wednesday has arrived once again. There is only a short time left if you need to get a ton of things done by Friday. The bright side says that Friday is viewable from Wednesday. One only has to cross the wasteland known as Thursday to make the golden appointment with the entryway to the weekend. The Golden Entryway to the weekend. I like the phrase as it describes Friday pretty nicely.

Since this is only Wednesday let’s not spent too much of Wednesday’s time on the merits of Friday. Wednesday has some really good points of its own. (It just occurred to me that I am making these days sound as if they are optional occurrences and I am working as an agent in trying to convince you to select them. Even though these days arrive and we are in no position to reject their arrival, I think it is productive to have some nice things to look forward to as they show up.)  So here are some nice things about my old pal Wednesday:

  • No one gets fired on Wednesday. A particular pleasure of management is to reserve the surprise of the pink slip to Friday so that it can be fully enjoyed over the weekend.
  • When national holidays occur on Wednesday you can elect to tag on two other days in the beginning or after to make the whole thing worth Five days instead of one.
  • Bosses day usually falls on a Wednesday and gives you the opportunity to make a number of brownie points that will serve you well for the remainder of the year.
  • A number of bars and clubs have drink specials on Wednesday which can be a great excuse to celebrate the middle of the work week.
  • Administrative Assistant Day is on a Wednesday
    in April of each year and gives you the opportunity to bribe thank your boss’s administrative assistant for all the wonderful and helpful things done for you.
  • The most DUI arrests take place on a Friday and the least on a Monday. Wednesday is right in the middle so your odds of avoiding a DUI arrest on Wednesday is very good. Your odds are really great if you don’t drink and drive.
  • Valentine’s day will not be on a Wednesday until sometime after 2016. This means you are safe on Wednesday if you tend to forget.

Can you think of any other good things for a Wednesday? If so why not share them. Here is hoping you have a good balance of the week

Wednesday is as Wednesday Does

~ John W. Howell ~ 26 Comments
Slow Time in Wrist Watch on Dry Leaf
Slow Time in Wrist Watch on Dry Leaf (Photo credit: epSos.de)

 

Wednesday shows up faster and faster each week. It is quite amazing how that happens. Here we are mid-week and it seems like we just left the weekend. I heard tell by some old folks one time that as you get older time moves faster. I suppose that is true when I think about being a kid waiting for baseball season to start. It looked to me as if it would never get underway when I was growing up.. As an old fart I turn around and the World Series is almost over in what appeared to be a blink of an eye from spring practice. That’s how it goes I guess. Given this train of thought I decided to list some the things that move fast in life and those that move slow. This list is very subjective and I wouldn’t mind if you wanted to take exception to what I perceive to be the timing of these events. Also you may have some of your own so feel free to use the comments section for those. Don’t forget the blog is called Fiction Favorites so don’t be afraid to make things up. I do it all the time.

Here is the list of fast and slow time movers:

  • Waiting in the rain for a bus, taxi, or car pool ride and you are wearing wool. – Slow Time mover
  • Preparing for an agent pitch that begins in a half hour and you had four days to work on – Fast Time mover
  • The time between the last anniversary, birthday, or mother’s day that you forgot and the next – Fast Time mover
  • The time that the seatbelt light goes off on a flight after you realize the BIG GULP you had with lunch needs to go somewhere. – Slow Time mover
  • The pay raise that you were promised shows up in your check – Slow Time mover
  • The extra taxes that you have taken out of your check – Fast Time mover
  • Time between in law visits – Fast Time mover
  • The amount of time on the meter where you parked your car – Fast Time mover
  • The time it takes to get a table after you have been seated in the bar – Slow Time mover
  • The time it takes to check out of the supermarket in the ten items or less lane – Slow Time mover
  • April 15th (Tax day in the US) – Fast time mover
  • The time spent in the doctor’s office after your appointment time. – Slow Time mover.
  • The amount of time left for your team to catch up from behind. – Fast Time mover
  • The amount of time the opponent’s team has to catch up from behind – Slow Time mover
  • The time between when your airplane takes off after a delay and the time the pilot said you were going to take off after the delay – Slow Time mover
  • The time between the notification by HR that your bosses boss wants to see you and the time your boss comes into you cube. – Fast Time Mover
  • The time to lunch when you decided to skip breakfast. – Slow Time mover
  • The time to dinner when you had no time for lunch – Slow Time mover.
  • The effects of alcohol on your system when you skipped breakfast, lunch, and dinner. –Fast Time mover.
  • The trip to Disney World with three kids from the time you leave home until you get there. (hint: “are we there yet?”) – Slowest Time mover

Well you get the idea. Happy Hump Day Y’all.

Hump Day is as Hump Day Does

~ John W. Howell ~ 20 Comments

camel

 

I don’t know if you have seen the commercial where the camel wanders around an office asking various workers, “What day is it?” Finally one of the staff mumbles, “its Hump Day.” The camel is very happy to be a visible part of what has become the second most important work day of the week. For those of you who defected to Red China during the Korean War and have just come back, let me make sure you know the meaning of Hump Day.  Hump Day is the arrival of the day where one has survived two days of work which could be considered the uphill phase of the week. The downhill phase, being the last two days of the week; doesn’t start until Hump Day is over. For the folks who work a traditional Monday through Friday routine, Hump Day is Wednesday. For all others it is the day that separates the beginning of the work week from that downhill slide to the days off time.  If you work seven days a week or are a writer this is all theory and really doesn’t exist for you.

What makes Hump Day so special? Well it’s like you are on a journey, you finally get to the point of no return and the next major milestone is the destination. The fact that your destination is closer than your point of departure makes it almost appear as if you will actually get there. How many times have we heard a child ask, “are we there yet?” when the trip is only minutes old. It is the same with the work week. Monday begins the journey to Friday. The destination is Saturday and on Monday it seems like getting there is about as possible as walking to Europe from the United States or vice versa. So when the workers of the world reach Wednesday and they are still viable; the prospect of reaching Friday has an exponential increase in odds. The odds increase so much that the day itself becomes a cause for celebration. It is sort of like celebrating being on a like raft when a ship sinks. You are not completely safe but a hell of a lot safer than when the whole mess started.

Since this is Wednesday I wrote a little Haiku that I hope captures the essence of the feeling for getting this far in the week.

Hump Day by John W. Howell ©2013

Hump day is a hill,

Successfully climbed after much trial . . .

Coasting down till Friday

Happy Hump Day.