Day 16: Are you chicken

Between You, Me and the Lamp Post

Day 16: Are you chicken

Just about everyone, at one time or another, has been asked … ‘Are you chicken?’ While some people might be offended by the question, it doesn’t bother me in the least. I am chicken, I freely admit it.

The first time I was called chicken was in Gold Reef City, Johannesburg, South Africa. We were standing in front of ‘The Golden Loop’ and my mother – ever the daredevil – wanted to go on the ride. She turned to my dad who puffed out his cheeks and shook his head. When she turned to me I did the same, with even more conviction. And with good reason.

During the testing phase of the Golden Loop, the carriage had come off the tracks and flown through the air. Take a look at the photo … do you see that flag at the top of the construction? That’s where it happened. Not ones, not twice, but several times. 

No way was I going on that ride.

The second time was right here in Toronto.

For my parent’s 50^th wedding anniversary, I had booked a table in the restaurant at the CN Tower. After our meal, we went to the lower level of the tower where there the observation deck and the glass floor are located. Mom dared me to walk across the glass floor.

Even though I’ve been assured that the floor is strong enough to hold ten elephants, I didn’t risk it.

A few years later the CN Tower opened ‘The Edge Walk’. An adventure where folks walk on top of the CN Tower. Dieter was all for it.

“How about it?” he asked.

I gave him a look. Wild horses couldn’t drag me up there.

“Chicken,” he said.

Yeah well, better a life chicken than a dead chicken.

I mean, look at what these folks are doing up there. Not a hair on my head even considers doing something so ludicrous!

A few days ago my dear son called me chicken again. He’d seen a video online where the camera first shows a normal sized spider and next shows a Goliath bird-eating spider. He saved the video to show me later. Then again, knowing my fear of spiders he thought it might not be a good idea.

“Is it big?” I asked him.

“Oh yeah,” he said.

“Bigger than a tarantula?”

“Much bigger,” he said. “Its legs are 30 cm (11.8 inches) each.”

OMG, that was a BIG spider. Did I want to see the video?

“Let me think about it,” I said.

“Chicken?” he said.

Yeah well, yes, right now I could only imagine the size of that beast, but if I actually saw it on the video … it might give me nightmares.

I debated for 48 hours and finally decided that I didn’t want to see it. Chicken or no chicken. And would you believe it … even though I hadn’t seen the spider, I had a nightmare about it anyway.

So, the next time someone calls you chicken, don’t get upset, go along with it. From one chicken to another, we’re not scared, we’re just careful. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

  

Day 60: What’s the difference between a tiger and a turkey?

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompts

Day 60: What’s the difference between a tiger and a turkey?

Last Saturday a tiger was shot dead in Paris, France, after escaping from a circus. The media reacted with outrage. People made comments such as

You KILLED an animal from GOD because he escaped from your torture and confinement!!! The GUN should be turned on all you CIRCUS freaks!!!!! Karma will visit you all! 

I cried my eyes out over this story, it's just so sad, and I'm trying to think of how to help other animals who are subjected to this kind of cruel captivity, and I keep thinking it's more than just this one owner, it's apathy, and lack of awareness and knowledge. I would say, don't shoot the owner (although I feel that way too), but take him to task, legally, and in so doing, change the laws around this behavior. Talk about this, petition, make the world aware. We must use our voice and speak for those who can't and change our attitudes and culture.

Another Innocent Animal Murdered ~ Why? Because he escaped being held a slave and wandered, the streets of Paris, probably trying to find his way back to his home ~ Because of HUMANS this Animal lost his breathing life ~ He lost his living Life when he was caged as a slave for this circus ~ Shame on all who keep Animals captive for their own selfish profits ~ RIP Beautiful Tiger

While I’m as outraged as thousands of others about caging this animal and killing it when it escaped, this incident got me thinking. 

Two days before the tiger was killed it was Thanksgiving in the United States, a day for which millions of turkeys were slaughtered but nobody said a word because the media didn’t report it. Did it occur to anyone to give thanks to the turkey as it sat golden brown on their dinner table?

What’s the difference between a tiger and a turkey? Is it because a tiger is a beautiful cat and a turkey is just a bird? What does that say about the human race? Do only the beautiful get to live? Man am I glad I’m not a turkey.

And it’s not just turkeys. Every day millions of animals get slaughtered (some after spending their entire short lives in cages) and hunters take to the field to kill. Why is nobody outraged about that?

Many will argue that animals are there to provide food for humans. To a certain degree, I agree but a lot of this meat gets wasted. How many turkeys were not eaten because of an argument that disrupted the meal? How many turkeys ended up in the bin because they were undercooked or burned? How many half-eaten turkeys were throw away because the bird was too big for the family? 

Every day we throw away food, whether it be beef, pork, chicken, or whatever.

What makes these animals any less than a tiger?

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Moments of confusion

We’ve all known moments of confusion. Times when we go to the kitchen or bedroom to get something, and don’t remember why we went there in the first place. Or looking for reading glasses while wearing them. But here at the house of Manero, confusion takes on a whole new meaning.

The other day I send Dieter to the store for groceries. Since there were quite a few items I urged him to write them down. Dieter whipped out his cell phone, called up the notes app, and declared himself ready. We needed steak, veggies, cat food, bathroom tissue, ice cream, dishwashing liquid, and bread.

When he came home I unpacked the bag. I found everything I asked for, except for dishwashing liquid. “How could you forget?” I asked. “You wrote everything down.”
Yeah well, the long and the short of it was … he hadn’t looked at his phone.

He offered to go back to the store, but no, the dishwashing liquid could wait a day. I would turn the bottle upside down and squeeze out whatever was still in there.

The next day Dieter went back to the store. This time, he didn’t need to write anything down as the only item needed was dishwashing liquid. 

He came home with a bag, packed with stuff.

“What did you all bring?” I asked.

“I found quite a few things on special,” he said. 

Out of the bag came a bag of grapes, a tray of strawberries, a tray of chicken breasts and a bag of cat nibbles. 

“And the dishwashing liquid?” I asked.

Oh shoot, that he’d forgotten.

Something else Dieter frequently forgets is to replace the plastic bag in the kitchen waste holder. When I see the bag is full, I remove it, knot it up and drape another plastic bag over the holder. When Dieter sees that the bag is full, he removes it and knots it up, but neglects to replace the old bag with a new one. Now you know what I’m going to say … the next time something needs to be thrown away, I go to the kitchen, open the waste holder and … yes, you guessed it, whatever was in my hand is now on the floor.

You might say … “Don’t you see that there isn’t a bag in the holder?” and the answer is … no, I’m so used to there being a bag there that I don’t pay attention.

But speaking of paying attention …

Last Sunday we were going to have chicken with potatoes, along with a salad of baby spinach and tomatoes. I peeled the potatoes and placed them in cold water.

Next, I washed the spinach and the tomatoes and drizzled them with olive oil and lemon juice.

About 45 minutes later Dieter asked if the chicken was almost ready. The plan was that while I took care of the finishing touches, he would set the table.

Chicken? … Chicken! I had clean forgotten about the chicken. Not only was it not almost ready, I hadn’t even placed it in the oven yet!

So you see, we’re both scatter brains. Put the two of us together and … well, you have a recipe for disaster. 

Perhaps our biggest blunder happened a few years ago in downtown Toronto.

We were walking along King Street when a man stopped us to ask for directions. “Excuse me,” he said, “can you tell me where Bay Street is?” And that’s when it happened … Dieter pointed to the left, while I pointed to the right. The man looked at us with a frown above narrowed eyes. He didn’t have to say anything, I knew what he was thinking … These two can’t be trusted.

I’m rather good at giving directions, but Dieter is terrible. I’ve heard him on occasion and honestly … some of the people he was trying to help might have ended up in Alaska.

www.connymanero.weebly.com

Do ostriches like potato salad

The other day I came across an article entitled “10 Surprising Facts About Earths Biggest Birds”. 
(http://tinyurl.com/q7yhre2). The article was referring to ostriches and while interesting, the article didn’t mention that ostriches are immensely fond of chicken, tomatoes and potato salad. Are you doubting me? Don’t, I have personal experience on the subject. Here’s what happened …

Continue reading at:

http://connymanero.weebly.com/blog/do-ostriches-like-potato-salad