Happy Birthday, America

America turns 244 today.  

I thought about getting it a present, but it never cashed in that gift subscription to Shudder that I got it last year, so I think I may just text it Happy Birthday.  We don't get together like we used to, even prior to Covid-19.  I dunno.  I'm 43.  I can take a hint.  

A few random thoughts, as I drink whatever beer I find in my fridge:

• Man, Karate Kid still pushes all the right 1980's Kid buttons in me.  Even if I find its message of a shortcut alternative to practice and study repugnant.  A thought that crosses my mind as I watch:  I wonder how many of the Cobra Kai's parents are at the All Valley Tournament at the end.  I know upbringing gets touched on somewhat in the first season of Cobra Kai (which is all I've seen of a show that was better than it had any right to be).  But it's something that crosses my mind every time I watch that movie.
• I'm on vacation this week.  I'd gone back and forth about whether to take it (and indeed, my hand was forced somewhat by a couple of call-ins and quits).  But, I'm taking it.  The tired, the last few months, has been a different kind of tired.  We're running 40-50% up vs. Same Store Sales from last year.  The trend in the region is 20-25%.  We don't have a good reason to point to, except:  my boss and I run a good store, and we fell apart less than a lot of our competitors over the initial shock and rush in March, and it made a good impression, and we've kept a lot of those new customers.  So, the upswing in business is there.  But we're dealing with a lot of stressed out folks, still, and that has a cumulative effect over the course of a day.  Especially on a week where I worked 6 straight.  Even on the first day of vacation (which is my first Independence Day off maybe since 2004) , I don't feel like I'm on vacation.  I'll probably start to decompress tomorrow.
• Not a good flick:  Crawl.  I wanted to like it.  I just found myself losing interest.
• Good flick, such as it is:  the Disney+ showing of Hamilton.  Yeah, that's as fun as everybody's said.  It was one of those things that I'd avoided simply because too many people were recommending, and it couldn't meet the expectation I'd built in my head.  Yeah, still fun.  It deserves the praise.
• Kittens is the buzzword of the past couple of weeks.  Mom got a new couple of kittens from a family friend.
  
• They're not tribbles.  They're cats. Young.  She hasn't named them yet because she'd like to learn their personalities.
• We've also had a couple of visitors.  They showed up with their mother a couple of weeks ago, and disappeared, only to reappear sans-mother this week.  Here is the one that has taken on the temporary label of Greavey (pronounced Gravy):
  
• She and brother may be slightly malnourished, but we're working on correcting that.  Greavey is friendly.  The brother is wary, but kinda likes being held once the initial shock wears off.  We're not looking to make them inside cats, but we're thinking we're gonna get them fixed and maybe let them hang around to take care of pests, along with Yard Cat Lester
• I really liked Christopher Moore's Shakespeare for Squirrels.  You should buy it and read it.
  
• This is two in a row humdingers from Moore, whose Noir is delightfully funny.  A pretty good balm for this asshole world around us.....