Human beings are dirty animals. We keep ourselves clean. Most people are fastidious and shower at least once a day, Pete and I included. But we aren’t as fastidious about our environs. Where we are, where we have been, there is dirt. We bring it in on our shoes. We shed, we sweep, we leave combs and tissue in plain sight. Sinks, floors, stairs, all show evidence of where we have been. It must be easy being a forensics expert.

Human beings are noisy animals. We yell at one another. We shoot guns and set off fireworks and pyrotechnic displays. Dogs bark and we yell at them. Children scream and let their displeasure known. There are man-made inventions, fire engines and trains included. We hit the car horns hard when we are enraged. Everywhere, there are televisions. And people with loud mouths, on and off screen, make their presence known.

I like living in a clean house. I like living in a quiet house. I have neither. Dust bunnies roll across the floor and on goes the Vita Mix; once again, Pete is grinding peanuts. It’s late, time to yell at the dogs who are barking at the snowplow, another noisy man-made machine. I almost said human made machine, but women don’t generally have anything to do with snowplows. They also don’t have much to do with snow machines or snow blowers.

Dog created snow in order to muffle sound, This was on a good day when Dog was in a very good mood and thought he’d do humans a favor by creating something that, yes, was beautiful, often sparkly, and muffled sound. Man turned around and invented the snowmachine, a vehicle that detracts from quietude.

Hmm, Dog created man and on the seventh day she put her hands in over her ears and wept for the first crying babies had alerted her to fact that she who enjoyed quietude had made a huge mistake.

Who was it that said, “Go forth and multiply?” "This was actually a Biblical directive from Genesis (1:28, 9:1) commanding humanity to reproduce, fill the Earth, and steward creation. The passage emphasized procreation, family growth, and spreading Dog’s image. The directive was also a key phrase in Star Trek, another one from this particular source being, “Beam me up, there’s no intelligent life here.”

Is there any intelligent life left on this planet? I don’t think so. We’ve robbed ourselves of the ability to think. We have met the enemy and he is us. Hell could freeze over and we’d wonder if Lowes had any ice melt or Alaska Industrial Hardware had any gloves on sale.

And will there be a rapture? There is no way of knowing because we can’t predict the future. If part of the criteria for staying in heaven is that you can’t wear shoes once you pass the pearly gates, then many will be sent to purgatory where the rules are temporarily suspended.

I am nearly at the end of my rant. This one came easily to me. I am so tired that I’m nearly in a dream state. Time to turn off the computer and head to dreamland.

Next: 12. 1/12/26: Humming Along