Category: Personal

All the points! We does not have them!

(Promoted from a comment elsewhere, original context not needed for this to make sense.)

Being aggressive, brave, feeling privileged, or whatever it is that makes me speak out in almost any circumstances doesn’t actually correlate well with knowing things useful in a discussion or in having ideas of value to a discussion. It’s worth some effort to me to avoid driving away people who have stuff to contribute to the discussion even if they are “timid” or easily scared off. Brash, outspoken people don’t really lack for opportunities to make their points; but we don’t have “all the points”.

That Time a Cat Ran Into the Car

I was once in a car that was run into by a cat.

Yes, the cat ran into the car. Yes, the car was moving. In a straight line, in a traffic lane on an ordinary street, no other traffic, not exceeding 30mph, full daylight; nothing weird.

I wasn’t driving, so when I saw the movement in my peripheral vision I could turn and watch just that. The cat ran across the front yard, out into the street, and bonked head-first into the rear door of the car, bounced off, turned, and ran back into the yard.

I hope it was okay; I can only think it was not quite right in the head already, or else maybe there was something I didn’t see — maybe it was chasing something I missed? Maybe, but I saw the cat run far enough it wasn’t close to anything it was chasing. Dunno, obviously. It was extremely weird, though.

(This happened ages ago, in the mid 1980s, when a friend visited us in Massachusetts. I’ve mentioned it online before I know, but I don’t think I’ve told the story carefully in a place I can find it later.)