HAPPY DEPENDENCE DAY

Sunday, July 4. 2010

No typo; I’m happy that Fenton and I will be dependent on each other forever.
It’s the last day of our honeymoon. We’ve packed up and are ready to check out of our rental unit for the flight back home. (No, Fenton won’t be carrying me that far! We’ll be on a commercial airliner.)
We’ve had a wondrous time here in Silicon Valley, but we’re eager to get home and start our new life. I told Fenton about a weird dream I had in which I turned into a bat, and he allowed that he had one about becoming a hedgehog. A sign of unity, I guess!
The big news was back in Domain where Fenton’s mom was fired from her office job and almost immediately hired by Herd Thinners, Inc. Her new title Liquid Assets Collector - Junior Level. It doesn’t pay as much as her old position, but she’s grateful to work in the place that accepts her for who she really is, and where she doesn’t have to live a lie. I know she’ll be a highly motivated employee, which I’m sure is another reason R.L. took her on.
She was paired with Kell who, true to her Type A form, tried to come back from her injury before getting her hunting timing back. This could have ended badly, as even one case of Not Meeting Daily Quota on an employee profile can have devastating results for a Staff Predator. Desdemona, however, had a unique but effective solution. (Kell just had to take care to rest and maintain hydration for the next 24 hours.)
Being in flight, we'll miss the Fourth of July fireworks. To my American readers, how do you celebrate today?

Posted by Lindesfarne at 12:35 | Comments (19) | Trackbacks (0)

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I was idly wondering if Fenton would carry you over the threshhold - your flying together slipped my mind.

#1 Ken D. Lion on 2010-07-04 15:10 (Reply)

We have fireworks too.
Something I wonder about...why are vampires so feared? If you are caught by a predator, you are dead. But a vampire can take some blood and just leave you woozy. In a world where being killed and eaten is a significant probability, losing some blood seems like a slam-dunk.
And wasn't fenton once asked if he was a vampire by vampire admirers?

#2 Thomas Mazanec (Link) on 2010-07-04 16:35 (Reply)

" But a vampire can take some blood and just leave you woozy."

And therein lies a problem. Given the fact that Herdthinners seems to employ a top-notch team of hunters who (usually) bring their "A" game to the table everyday, coupled that in order to stay alive the prey needs to likewise bring their "A" game as well...

Being a little woozy from blood loss gives the predators a slight (if not significant) advantage over the prey.

I recall from the Exxon Valdez oil spill in our world, they released a seal from being cleaned up. It was healthy enough to be released and to survive, but it begs the question if it was healthy enough to survive the predators. Case in point, the little bugger was scarfed down by an Orca seconds after being released.

So there could be a real and honest concern behind being bitten by a vampire bat. Which thanks to the Hollyweirds of both worlds, may have been turned into a superstitious fear.

#2.1 Mongo Skruddgemire on 2010-07-09 10:58 (Reply)

It's not logical, I know, but fear never is. The best way I can explain it is that residents of our world are conditioned to believe that their natural defenses will protect them from predators. However, the myths surrounding vampire bats (that they attack when their victims are sleeping and helpless) leads to a fear that's based on beliefs completely unsupported by facts.

#3 Lindesfarne Dewclaw on 2010-07-04 16:41 (Reply)

I think its not vampire bat but the vampires in the movies that put the fear into people. At least one the human side. The human vampires take more then a little blood. The myth is if you are attacked by a vampire you will turn into one.

I think if their realy are vampires they would find a way to get blood without drawing attention to themselfs. They may even work for bloodbanks or pay to have someone give their blood.

In other words the hype is to make the movies scary.

#3.1 STEVEN BRAMS on 2010-07-04 17:04 (Reply)

And then on the human side there is the undead thing.
Vampires are human, but not alive, but still moving, as well as infesting others.
Actually if there were one such creature, in a short while there would be no more living humans. Steven King (horror writer) wrote a book on that.

#3.1.1 Old Prof. Otter/Godel Fishbreath on 2010-07-05 02:54 (Reply)

Quibble, quibble... even in the classic Bram Stoker version of vampires, one does not become a vampire just from being attacked by one. It requires that you drink some of the vampire's blood; so it happens only by conscious decision. They do not multiply exponentially, like the George Romero zombies do.

#3.1.1.1 John B Hodges on 2010-07-10 05:06 (Reply)

Let me see if I can add something...most predators don't fear much, but even predators fear vampire bats. As Lindesfarne said, they get past defenses, and if they take enough blood, they can leave you easy prey for...well, other predators. It's not a rational fear. And let's face it, how do you trust a predator who uses that kind of deceit? (Yes, attacking while your prey is asleep is considered, well, at least not sporting).

It's a prejudice; we're no more proud of our prejudices over here than, I imagine, you are about yours on the other side of the portal. But there's a bit of truth to the argument that prejudices help keep you alive -- over here, anyway. I understand you humans don't prey on each other the same way we do over here, yet you still have many prejudices, including a few that don't make sense to us over here. 'Tis a puzzle, and this tiger needs her sleep.

#3.2 Terri the Tiger on 2010-07-05 23:12 (Reply)

Well, we celebrate by fireworks, and if it is not on a sunday like it is, with a BBQ, food, and getting together with friends and family.

Today, family time. We also say what we are grateful about this nation as well.

Sadly our state has some bans on what kind of fireworks we can and cannot use. ((anything that leaves the ground is banned))

But over the state line has anything legal... just use common sense so people like going over there to use them.

Oh.... there is the city display, but three days before and after you will hear the occasionally boom, pop, and the like. That is what happens in my area.

#4 American Otter on 2010-07-04 17:12 (Reply)

Well, I will probably celebrate by watching a Will Smith kills the aliens movie. I actually like Independence Day

#5 Selina Grace on 2010-07-04 18:04 (Reply)

Actually, I just got home from the country club's pool party celebration. It's always fun with games for both the young and old, a buffet, and plenty of music. Also quite a bit of swimming and getting sun while reading Green Lantern TPB (that last part was just me, though my brother was doing some regular reading as well). Later on, we go see some fireworks, and maybe set off some of our own (smaller ones for legal reasons).

Glad to hear your honeymoon went well. Hope you guys have a happy life together.

#6 Alex on 2010-07-04 20:49 (Reply)

Spent some time with neighbors at a barbecue. Will watch fireworks tonight.

Sorry your mother had it rough back at work, but at least things went well in the end.

#7 Bixyl Shuftan (Link) on 2010-07-04 22:27 (Reply)

You didn't really ask for it, but I figured you're like me and the curious type, like to know new things, so I'll answer the question you posed ... from a Canadian perspective! Yup, I'm a Canadian (and I don't play hockey (can't even skate), drink beer (not religious reasons or anything, just don't care for it), or say "eh", at least not a lot), and we celebrate Canada Day - July 1 - pretty much like how I guess you Americans do, with outdoor activities (yes, beginning of July is hot in Canada too - it was 40C / 104F here today with the humidex factored in), barbecues (although not to the extent you do) flags, and, of course, fireworks (mainly we leave them to the professionals here, though I do see several roadside "FIREWORKS HERE!" signs.

And, the best part is that we start the party 3 days before you do! Which reminds me, can you guys try to keep it down next year? By July 4, most of us are still hung over, and the noise from the suite below us is painful.

#8 David Kendall on 2010-07-05 01:29 (Reply)

Chased fireworks displays in a car after the one we thought would go didn't.

Worked out at the combo wilderness preserve and town dump. We are trying to warn a man that his pup dog is in danger. The wilderness preserve has coyotes, snakes including rattlers,large bobcat/miniture cougars, and birds big enough to carry off a small dog.
In Coyote 'infested' Hollywood hills and some of the surrounding area, the life span of a outdoor cat is less than a year. As some of the cats are very expensive, it is a joke that Hollywood has some of the most expensively fed coyotes.

#9 Old Prof. Otter/Godel Fishbreath on 2010-07-05 02:48 (Reply)

We had fun this year. We have Korean houseguests who have never been up close to a fireworks display, though they've seen them in the sky. We went to the municipal fireworks display, where a band played marches, including "The Stars and Stripes Forever" all through the fireworks display. There were a couple of ground displays you never see just watching from afar, and the experience of the fireworks going off right above you (it seems). They were quite impressed, and we had a good time. It's fortunate that today (July 5) is a holiday, because the fireworks kept us up late.

#10 Johanna MM on 2010-07-05 13:09 (Reply)

As the Fourth of July fell on a Sunday, we had the family cook-out on Saturday. Sunday evening we sang patriotic hymns at church. Our hymnal has abbreviated the Star Spangled Banner to a mere two verses, and our song leader read all four. We also sang Faith of our Fathers, the national hymn. Speaking for myself, I wish we'd sang the first verse of Chester, and all of Eternal Father, Strong to Save. Afterwards, we had a late supper at church, with ice cream and watermelon for dessert.

#11 Harry on 2010-07-05 13:30 (Reply)

Well, I would usually have participated in the "Centennial" festivities at my place of work (a historical museum), except for a virus I picked up earlier.

I did, however, spend the day at a family gathering, with plenty of food, fun in the pool, a display of Diet Coke & Mentos fountains, and a few fireworks after dark (plus an informal recitation of the Declaration of Independence by yours truly)....

#12 LA/wts on 2010-07-06 00:22 (Reply)

I see Tree has too much time on her branchs. How about having her give a course to student on forestry management. Being a tree herself she can ancer questions that others can only guess at. They may even start calling her Prof. Tree

#13 STEVEN BRAMS on 2010-07-06 12:56 (Reply)

In the traditional Redneck fashion, I got together with my bros and we blew stuff up but GOOD. Of course, there was almost a bit of an altercation when some drunken so-and-so in the neighborhood was launching bottle rockets that were whizzing close to the heads of spectators. I had burn marks on my face from one that got way too close. Fortunately, a strongly worded call to cease and desist worked, and the rest of the night went well... well, except for when that one firework went all serpentine and veered into the trees. We almost had a fire on our hands, but thank God it didn't spark up.

#14 James on 2010-07-11 00:15 (Reply)

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