News #1
They started to keep records about the weather here in Austria 130 years ago and according to those there had never before been a winter with so little Sun. Since the middle of last Fall and throughout the Winter we've been having nothing but clouds, clouds and clouds again.... together with low lieing fog, fog and more fog. I think I could count the number of hours where the sun was visible on the fingers of one hand.
Or so it seems.
News #2
In the Salzburg Financial Scandal (with caps) the graphologist has issued his finding: The Signature on the letter is, with high degree of certainty, a forgery.
So, do we now call the cops? Do we ask the Prosecutor's office to investigate and lay charges?
Will they do this with "high degree of certainty" or just low degree of maybe?
Do not hold your breath
Which of the above is more upsetting to Bertstravels?
You get two guesses.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
SAME OLD THING - Same old Saturday Night
For a moment there, I thought that the snow fall had stopped. It did... all of a couple of hours. then it started again. A very fine, dry snow, quietly, steadily falling without let-up...
Soon we will all be buried under this white stuff.
I told Christin that I was going to fly to Florida, buy Key West and settle there once and for all.
So what else is new?
The Financial Scandal of Salzburg is getting, as the saying goes: "curiouser and curiouser"...
Now they have discovered a letter in which the Housing Department gives to the Finance Department completely unfettered permission, describing in great detail what the Finance Department may do with the 800 Million Euros. ( the exact amount is still in question. It could be more) Investing into Shares, Derivatives, Options, Foreign Currency Transaction of all manner and kind... and on and on... in other words, the Housing Department said: Here's all the money with which we are supposed to build social housing, but, hey, what the hell...you take it and gamble with it to your heart's content. What a sweet letter, giving the go-ahead to Monica and her political bosses to continue "Verzocking" hundreds of millions of Euros..
(remember the meaning of "Verzocken" ... to engage in high risk investments.
EXCEPT... wait a while... the boss of the Housing Department says: What letter? I never wrote such a letter, I never signed such a letter... This is a clumsy forgery !!!
This is not my signature!
This is not the way we sign our letters!
This is not the stationary we use!
This is not the stamp we affix to our letters...wait a moment...
this is the stamp used by the Finance Department... the number 61 clearly identifies it as belonging to the Finance Department. We would have no access to this stamp and anyway, why would we use the stamp of the Finance Department?
and again: While this signature at the bottom of this forgery LOOKS like mine, it definitely is not mine...
So, we call a graphologist, a hand writing expert whose final opinion will be published tomorrow, but certain circles claim that the graphologist's opinion will confirm the signature as NOT being genuine. Okay, are we then calling the Police ???
I WILL AGAIN RAISE THE SAME ALL IMPORTANT QUESTION:
If the housing department doesn't need the money that urgently, that they don't miss it for years...(The whole swindle started in 2006) and if the Finance Department can invest these funds on long term basis, this clearly indicates that Governments on all levels have too much money.
There is, therefore, only one decent, honest, moral way to deal with such overabundance of funds:
GIVE THE MONEY BACK TO THE PEOPLE BY LOWERING THE TAXES.
Did I say: "decent, honest and moral" ? I think that these are the very attributes missing in many, if not most, Politicians of all stripes.
The activities of Governments should be restricted to the following:
External Affairs (including a small but efficient Military Force)
Internal Security (to protect the rights and safety of private citizens)
Health and Education, and
Fixing of Pot Holes. (the above list is a little "tongue in cheek" list.)
(on second thought: maybe we should give the fixing of pot holes into private hands as well.)
No, Bertstravels does not own an asphalt company.
Soon we will all be buried under this white stuff.
I told Christin that I was going to fly to Florida, buy Key West and settle there once and for all.
So what else is new?
The Financial Scandal of Salzburg is getting, as the saying goes: "curiouser and curiouser"...
Now they have discovered a letter in which the Housing Department gives to the Finance Department completely unfettered permission, describing in great detail what the Finance Department may do with the 800 Million Euros. ( the exact amount is still in question. It could be more) Investing into Shares, Derivatives, Options, Foreign Currency Transaction of all manner and kind... and on and on... in other words, the Housing Department said: Here's all the money with which we are supposed to build social housing, but, hey, what the hell...you take it and gamble with it to your heart's content. What a sweet letter, giving the go-ahead to Monica and her political bosses to continue "Verzocking" hundreds of millions of Euros..
(remember the meaning of "Verzocken" ... to engage in high risk investments.
EXCEPT... wait a while... the boss of the Housing Department says: What letter? I never wrote such a letter, I never signed such a letter... This is a clumsy forgery !!!
This is not my signature!
This is not the way we sign our letters!
This is not the stationary we use!
This is not the stamp we affix to our letters...wait a moment...
this is the stamp used by the Finance Department... the number 61 clearly identifies it as belonging to the Finance Department. We would have no access to this stamp and anyway, why would we use the stamp of the Finance Department?
and again: While this signature at the bottom of this forgery LOOKS like mine, it definitely is not mine...
So, we call a graphologist, a hand writing expert whose final opinion will be published tomorrow, but certain circles claim that the graphologist's opinion will confirm the signature as NOT being genuine. Okay, are we then calling the Police ???
I WILL AGAIN RAISE THE SAME ALL IMPORTANT QUESTION:
If the housing department doesn't need the money that urgently, that they don't miss it for years...(The whole swindle started in 2006) and if the Finance Department can invest these funds on long term basis, this clearly indicates that Governments on all levels have too much money.
There is, therefore, only one decent, honest, moral way to deal with such overabundance of funds:
GIVE THE MONEY BACK TO THE PEOPLE BY LOWERING THE TAXES.
Did I say: "decent, honest and moral" ? I think that these are the very attributes missing in many, if not most, Politicians of all stripes.
The activities of Governments should be restricted to the following:
External Affairs (including a small but efficient Military Force)
Internal Security (to protect the rights and safety of private citizens)
Health and Education, and
Fixing of Pot Holes. (the above list is a little "tongue in cheek" list.)
(on second thought: maybe we should give the fixing of pot holes into private hands as well.)
No, Bertstravels does not own an asphalt company.
Monday, February 25, 2013
WINTER IN BLEIBURG
During Winter this little building houses
our Palm and Yucca trees.
Will they survive this frigid weather?
A week ago there was almost NO snow on the roofs
and only very little on the ground.
Within 48 hours our back garden looked like this.
Our neighbours bird feeding station.
Care for a swim???
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Hide the Facts = Censorship
Here we go again, we hear those trumpets blow again....
Back we go, contrary to my earlier promises, back we go to Monika Rathgeber.
Oh, you have forgotten who Monika R. is ? Monika R is the lady who was in charge of the finances of the Province of Salzburg. Remember, she's the lady who invested hundreds of millions of Euros, which the Province received from the Federal Government to build homes, in the money market. She, it was originally assumed, "verzockt" (high risk .gambled) funds and accumulated losses in excess of 345 million Euros.
Then they counted it all again and found that she actually made 70 Million Euros. It took weeks and weeks of painstaking search to establish this miracle. For a long while nobody knew where all these funds lay hidden.
Some people suggested that now all is okay. Monika didn't loose money playing the market, she actually made money doing this. Other people, a bit smarter than the average politician, said: "Hold it... gambling with taxpayers money is "verboten" or should be against the law.
So they established a panel to closely examine the entire sad affair. This "Examination Panel" (Untersuchungs-Ausschuss) called for witnesses, who will be examined. (An entire day has been set aside for the examination of Monika) and, of course, this Panel called for documents.
The documents were delivered. See there... entire sections were blacked out, however.
Rightly some members of the Panel protested, that such "Censorship" would make it difficult, if not impossible, to get to the bottom of the entire scandal.
The chair of this Examination Panel, one Ms. Astrid Rössler however commented: "I was told, that the black-outs concern only personal data and in reading the documents I concluded that nothing essential was blacked out."
Now isn't this precious.... The Chair of the Examination Panel is satisfied to accept the censored documents, because 'somebody told her 'that only personal data were blacked out and in any event, reading these documents convinced her that nothing important was blacked out.'
How does she know, how does anybody know the importance of a blacked-out section of a document?
A Panel of Examiners must be given uncensored information.
For Goodness sake, we are not talking here of military secrets, the publication of which may endanger the security of the country...we are talking about documents, likely dealing with the investment procedures and financial dealings of Monika Rathgeber and her political bosses. Are those politicians trying to hide their personal involvement in this nefarious affair? Why is the Chair of the Panel so quickly content with such censorship?
Something smells here to high heaven.
It would not surprise me if the witnesses called would show up with a band-aid over their mouths, so that they could not reveal personal data, and, in any event, the fact that they could not talk
doesn't really matter, since they would have nothing important to say. So the Chairlady of the Untersuchungs-Ausschuss was told by somebody.
Are they not ashamed of themselves?
You know who would be ashamed ?
Bertstravels, that's who.
Back we go, contrary to my earlier promises, back we go to Monika Rathgeber.
Oh, you have forgotten who Monika R. is ? Monika R is the lady who was in charge of the finances of the Province of Salzburg. Remember, she's the lady who invested hundreds of millions of Euros, which the Province received from the Federal Government to build homes, in the money market. She, it was originally assumed, "verzockt" (high risk .gambled) funds and accumulated losses in excess of 345 million Euros.
Then they counted it all again and found that she actually made 70 Million Euros. It took weeks and weeks of painstaking search to establish this miracle. For a long while nobody knew where all these funds lay hidden.
Some people suggested that now all is okay. Monika didn't loose money playing the market, she actually made money doing this. Other people, a bit smarter than the average politician, said: "Hold it... gambling with taxpayers money is "verboten" or should be against the law.
So they established a panel to closely examine the entire sad affair. This "Examination Panel" (Untersuchungs-Ausschuss) called for witnesses, who will be examined. (An entire day has been set aside for the examination of Monika) and, of course, this Panel called for documents.
The documents were delivered. See there... entire sections were blacked out, however.
Rightly some members of the Panel protested, that such "Censorship" would make it difficult, if not impossible, to get to the bottom of the entire scandal.
The chair of this Examination Panel, one Ms. Astrid Rössler however commented: "I was told, that the black-outs concern only personal data and in reading the documents I concluded that nothing essential was blacked out."
Now isn't this precious.... The Chair of the Examination Panel is satisfied to accept the censored documents, because 'somebody told her 'that only personal data were blacked out and in any event, reading these documents convinced her that nothing important was blacked out.'
How does she know, how does anybody know the importance of a blacked-out section of a document?
A Panel of Examiners must be given uncensored information.
For Goodness sake, we are not talking here of military secrets, the publication of which may endanger the security of the country...we are talking about documents, likely dealing with the investment procedures and financial dealings of Monika Rathgeber and her political bosses. Are those politicians trying to hide their personal involvement in this nefarious affair? Why is the Chair of the Panel so quickly content with such censorship?
Something smells here to high heaven.
It would not surprise me if the witnesses called would show up with a band-aid over their mouths, so that they could not reveal personal data, and, in any event, the fact that they could not talk
doesn't really matter, since they would have nothing important to say. So the Chairlady of the Untersuchungs-Ausschuss was told by somebody.
Are they not ashamed of themselves?
You know who would be ashamed ?
Bertstravels, that's who.
Saturday, February 16, 2013
The King of Schladming
Schladming is a small town, more like a large Village, situated in the Province of Styria, in Austria.
About 4,500 inhabitants call it "home". It is surrounded by the most beautiful mountains and is a favourite spot for tourists from all over the world, Summer and Winter.
The citizens have recently elected a King.
First they hung three Goldmedals around his neck and then they proclaimed him: "King of Schladming".
What makes this so interesting is, that this new King of S. isn't even an Austrian.
He is, in fact, a Citizen of the United States of America and his name is Ted Ligety.
During the World Championships of Alpine Skiing, Ted garnered three Goldmedals in absolutely sovereign style. This is a feat which has not happened in 45 years, when a Frenchman, named Jean Claud Killey did it for the last time. Before Jean Claude it was the Austrian from the town of Kitzbühel who won the Gold in Downhill, Slalom and Giant Slalom. at the Olympic Games in Cortina D'Ampezzo, Italy, in 1956.
Ted Ligety is the first American to ever win 3 Golds in one competition .
When he was asked if President Obama had called him to congratulate him, he answered with a sly grin:
"No, Obama has not called nor has he sent me an SMS."
Ted Ligety is not only the King of Schladming, but he seems to be a thoroughly nice man with a brilliant smile.
My son, Steven and his family were in Schladming last winter and he probably skied the same slopes as Ted. Maybe not quite as fast, though.
Bertstravels is definitely not a skier...
About 4,500 inhabitants call it "home". It is surrounded by the most beautiful mountains and is a favourite spot for tourists from all over the world, Summer and Winter.
The citizens have recently elected a King.
First they hung three Goldmedals around his neck and then they proclaimed him: "King of Schladming".
What makes this so interesting is, that this new King of S. isn't even an Austrian.
He is, in fact, a Citizen of the United States of America and his name is Ted Ligety.
During the World Championships of Alpine Skiing, Ted garnered three Goldmedals in absolutely sovereign style. This is a feat which has not happened in 45 years, when a Frenchman, named Jean Claud Killey did it for the last time. Before Jean Claude it was the Austrian from the town of Kitzbühel who won the Gold in Downhill, Slalom and Giant Slalom. at the Olympic Games in Cortina D'Ampezzo, Italy, in 1956.
Ted Ligety is the first American to ever win 3 Golds in one competition .
When he was asked if President Obama had called him to congratulate him, he answered with a sly grin:
"No, Obama has not called nor has he sent me an SMS."
Ted Ligety is not only the King of Schladming, but he seems to be a thoroughly nice man with a brilliant smile.
My son, Steven and his family were in Schladming last winter and he probably skied the same slopes as Ted. Maybe not quite as fast, though.
Bertstravels is definitely not a skier...
Monday, February 11, 2013
Not a Good Week... not at all a good week...
Last week I slipped on a patch of ice, fell backwards and landed on my left hand. Xrays showed, fortunately, no break, but a severe contusion. And the outside bone of my left wrist was pushed out of alignment.
When the doctor at the hospital pushed it back into place, I almost murdered him.. the pain was severe.
Then I lost the key to the front door.
On Wednesday, Herwig, my nephew called me with the sad news, that his mother, my sister, not unexpectedly, had passed away. She was in her 91st year and had not been well for the last few month or so. During the last few weeks of her life, she was almost constantly in a stage of semi consciousness. During the last seven days she ate or drank nothing. Last Wednesday, my sister, Inge, closed her eyes for the last time. She died peacefully and without pain at age 90+....
The Church Service was short and without "pomp and circumstance". The priest spoke without the usual Catholic Pathos. He spoke quietly and to the point. Herwig gave a very lovely laudatio, describing her life in short outline with a lot of love. The burial service too was conducted by the priest in lovely and short language. Then we all left and, as is the custom here, all assembled in a nearby "Gasthaus" for a meal in Inge's honour.
My mother used to tell me that I, the youngest of her four children was, for her, the easiest and least troublesome to raise. Why ? I asked. "Well", she said, "I had a full time mother's assistant."
When I was borne, my sister Inge was 10 years old and simply took over the job of 'mother'.
She would prepare the milk bottle, test the temperature on her wrist and feed me. She changed my diapers, she took me for walks in the baby carriage, she cuddled me when, for some reason, I cried. She got me dressed in the morning before she went to school... and so on... and so on...
She was, in other words, my surrogate mother, to the extent that her own life, like school, allowed this.
Now Inge is gone and I will have to fend for myself. Test the milk on my own wrist and cuddle myself when I cry.
I will show you some pictures of Inge and the funeral.
That's the way time goes by...
so says Bertstravels.
When the doctor at the hospital pushed it back into place, I almost murdered him.. the pain was severe.
Then I lost the key to the front door.
On Wednesday, Herwig, my nephew called me with the sad news, that his mother, my sister, not unexpectedly, had passed away. She was in her 91st year and had not been well for the last few month or so. During the last few weeks of her life, she was almost constantly in a stage of semi consciousness. During the last seven days she ate or drank nothing. Last Wednesday, my sister, Inge, closed her eyes for the last time. She died peacefully and without pain at age 90+....
The Church Service was short and without "pomp and circumstance". The priest spoke without the usual Catholic Pathos. He spoke quietly and to the point. Herwig gave a very lovely laudatio, describing her life in short outline with a lot of love. The burial service too was conducted by the priest in lovely and short language. Then we all left and, as is the custom here, all assembled in a nearby "Gasthaus" for a meal in Inge's honour.
My mother used to tell me that I, the youngest of her four children was, for her, the easiest and least troublesome to raise. Why ? I asked. "Well", she said, "I had a full time mother's assistant."
When I was borne, my sister Inge was 10 years old and simply took over the job of 'mother'.
She would prepare the milk bottle, test the temperature on her wrist and feed me. She changed my diapers, she took me for walks in the baby carriage, she cuddled me when, for some reason, I cried. She got me dressed in the morning before she went to school... and so on... and so on...
She was, in other words, my surrogate mother, to the extent that her own life, like school, allowed this.
Now Inge is gone and I will have to fend for myself. Test the milk on my own wrist and cuddle myself when I cry.
I will show you some pictures of Inge and the funeral.
That's the way time goes by...
so says Bertstravels.
Friday, February 8, 2013
THE WOODCHUCK
how much wood
could a woodchuck chuck
if a woodchuck
could chuck
wood.
(depends on the size of his powersaw.)
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
It doesn't always work out the way it was planned
She is beautiful. She is charming. She is intelligent... She is admired by millions, mostly ski-fans..
She is Lindsey Vonn. Blond, brown eyed, 1.78 m. tall and statuesque.
She is indeed the skiing queen of this time.
Recently she suffered from an intestinal infection, which took some strength out of this beautiful body. Also recently she broke up with her man, a circumstance which caused her some depression.
So Lindsey took a month off from this winter sport, which had become her profession.
She was treated for all that ailed her and, upon her return, she just continued her streak. Placing well in the first race, winning the second and, I believe, the third and generally seeming to be 'back on track'
Today, the World Alpine Skiing Championships started in Schladming, Austria, with the first competition being the 'Ladies Super Giant Slalom'.
The weather was not ideal. At first it rained a little, then the fog came in, making racing at speeds of up to 90km per hour, through a series of gates, a near impossibility. So the race, originally scheduled for 11AM was postponed awaiting better conditions. It finally was allowed to start at about 2.30PM.
Lindsey had been interviewed by every body who could hold a microphone and ask mostly stupid questions.
She answered all, even the most inane questions with patience and courtesy in fairly good German:
"Yes, I am fully recovered... Yes, I feel strong and look forward to the race with confidence... No, while I hope to win, I am not predicting victory. There are many other very good skiers."
But in her demeanor, the way she held her head, the way she smiled you could tell she was certain that she would do well.
Tina Maze of Slovenia was in first place and then, with start number 19 came Lindsey Vonn.
She threw herself down the steep slope, skied, 'hell bent for leather', cut the gates so tightly that I'm sure her shoulders must have hurt with each impact. In the first and second intermediate time she was leading Tina by a few 100th of a second.
And then it happened: Landing after a natural jump in the course, her right knee seemed to give out. She crashed at full speed and head first into the next gate... her skies came flying through the air.. a cloud of snow engulfed the whole scene for a second... then she lay there and did not move. No 'I'm Okay wave' which the racers always give at such a crash to indicate that they are not hurt. Lindsey just lay there motionless.
First aid personnel, stationed all along the course rushed in to help her. Carefully they packed her into a semi-round sled. A Helicopter's urgent humming was heard... then it appeared, this yellow bird of rescue.. hovering over the small group of people below. It unravelled a long tow line. Lindsey in her basket together with two first aid staff, tangling seemingly precariously a good 10 to 15 meters below, were transported to the nearest hospital. A second camera-equipped helicopter showed the entire voyage. A team of white clad persons stood on the roof grouped in a semicircle around the landing target....
Lindsey's dream, and along with hers many of our dreams, came to a shocked end.
Lindsey Vonn may, this year, have stood on skies for the last time. Instead of having become the adored winner of the "Ladies' Super Giant Slalom", and maybe day after tomorrow the champion of the "Ladies' Downhill', she is now in hospital recovering from serious injury.
Bertstravels says: Just don't count your chickens until they're hatched, or more appropriately: "Don't count your Gold Medals until after the race.
She is Lindsey Vonn. Blond, brown eyed, 1.78 m. tall and statuesque.
She is indeed the skiing queen of this time.
Recently she suffered from an intestinal infection, which took some strength out of this beautiful body. Also recently she broke up with her man, a circumstance which caused her some depression.
So Lindsey took a month off from this winter sport, which had become her profession.
She was treated for all that ailed her and, upon her return, she just continued her streak. Placing well in the first race, winning the second and, I believe, the third and generally seeming to be 'back on track'
Today, the World Alpine Skiing Championships started in Schladming, Austria, with the first competition being the 'Ladies Super Giant Slalom'.
The weather was not ideal. At first it rained a little, then the fog came in, making racing at speeds of up to 90km per hour, through a series of gates, a near impossibility. So the race, originally scheduled for 11AM was postponed awaiting better conditions. It finally was allowed to start at about 2.30PM.
Lindsey had been interviewed by every body who could hold a microphone and ask mostly stupid questions.
She answered all, even the most inane questions with patience and courtesy in fairly good German:
"Yes, I am fully recovered... Yes, I feel strong and look forward to the race with confidence... No, while I hope to win, I am not predicting victory. There are many other very good skiers."
But in her demeanor, the way she held her head, the way she smiled you could tell she was certain that she would do well.
Tina Maze of Slovenia was in first place and then, with start number 19 came Lindsey Vonn.
She threw herself down the steep slope, skied, 'hell bent for leather', cut the gates so tightly that I'm sure her shoulders must have hurt with each impact. In the first and second intermediate time she was leading Tina by a few 100th of a second.
And then it happened: Landing after a natural jump in the course, her right knee seemed to give out. She crashed at full speed and head first into the next gate... her skies came flying through the air.. a cloud of snow engulfed the whole scene for a second... then she lay there and did not move. No 'I'm Okay wave' which the racers always give at such a crash to indicate that they are not hurt. Lindsey just lay there motionless.
First aid personnel, stationed all along the course rushed in to help her. Carefully they packed her into a semi-round sled. A Helicopter's urgent humming was heard... then it appeared, this yellow bird of rescue.. hovering over the small group of people below. It unravelled a long tow line. Lindsey in her basket together with two first aid staff, tangling seemingly precariously a good 10 to 15 meters below, were transported to the nearest hospital. A second camera-equipped helicopter showed the entire voyage. A team of white clad persons stood on the roof grouped in a semicircle around the landing target....
Lindsey's dream, and along with hers many of our dreams, came to a shocked end.
Lindsey Vonn may, this year, have stood on skies for the last time. Instead of having become the adored winner of the "Ladies' Super Giant Slalom", and maybe day after tomorrow the champion of the "Ladies' Downhill', she is now in hospital recovering from serious injury.
Bertstravels says: Just don't count your chickens until they're hatched, or more appropriately: "Don't count your Gold Medals until after the race.
Saturday, February 2, 2013
An Earthquake hits and my dog doesn't know it:
So, I'm just sitting there, in my studio, reading, for the second time, Hayek's "The Road to Serfdom" when all of a sudden the chair I sit in begins to shake. Must be the dog, I think, But no, it can't be the dog... Doggy-dog-dog (yes, that's her name) quietly lies at the other end of my studio, half asleep, as usual, just being a dog, seemingly not worrying about anything except maybe from where her next meal is coming .. But no, she won't even worry about that, since she knows that she gets fed as regularly as clockwork.
But, I think, my chair shook. Shook noticeably so I could feel it all over my body.
While I am still trying to put two and two together, Christin comes in: "Did you feel this earthquake?" she asks. The upper part of the house, the door to the attic stairs shook a little like doggy-dog-dog shakes when she is wet and wants to get the water out of her fur.
Well, so much for the old story, how animals, particularly dogs, feel an earthquake coming before it's here. They are rumoured to pace up and down nervously.
This story is either a lot of nonsense, or doggy-dog-dog is not really a dog and just pretends to be one. Come to think of it, she often behaves as if she were human. When we go out and we tell her that she must stay home to protect the house, she looks sad, disappointed, disgusted at our treachery, pulls her otherwise always wagging tail between her hind legs and slinks off as if to say: "Someday I'll get even with you guys."
Maybe today was one of her "get even days". She probably knew there was an earthquake coming, felt it all over her body, but refused to give us this legendary dog-warning so that we would know that an earthquake was about to hit our house.... But it really makes no difference: All her nervous pacing to and fro would not have told me that there was an earthquake in the offing.. Maybe she knew that and thought: "well there is a quake coming. It'll hit in about 60 seconds and I should nervously pace up and down. But, what's the use. He (that's me) won't recognise the reason for my pacing.... so I might as well lie here quietly, pretending to be asleep."
You just never know what goes on in a dog's fertile mind. So, now I can't even rely on my best friend, doggy-dog-dog anymore.
Bertstravels is sorely disappointed.
But, I think, my chair shook. Shook noticeably so I could feel it all over my body.
While I am still trying to put two and two together, Christin comes in: "Did you feel this earthquake?" she asks. The upper part of the house, the door to the attic stairs shook a little like doggy-dog-dog shakes when she is wet and wants to get the water out of her fur.
Well, so much for the old story, how animals, particularly dogs, feel an earthquake coming before it's here. They are rumoured to pace up and down nervously.
This story is either a lot of nonsense, or doggy-dog-dog is not really a dog and just pretends to be one. Come to think of it, she often behaves as if she were human. When we go out and we tell her that she must stay home to protect the house, she looks sad, disappointed, disgusted at our treachery, pulls her otherwise always wagging tail between her hind legs and slinks off as if to say: "Someday I'll get even with you guys."
Maybe today was one of her "get even days". She probably knew there was an earthquake coming, felt it all over her body, but refused to give us this legendary dog-warning so that we would know that an earthquake was about to hit our house.... But it really makes no difference: All her nervous pacing to and fro would not have told me that there was an earthquake in the offing.. Maybe she knew that and thought: "well there is a quake coming. It'll hit in about 60 seconds and I should nervously pace up and down. But, what's the use. He (that's me) won't recognise the reason for my pacing.... so I might as well lie here quietly, pretending to be asleep."
You just never know what goes on in a dog's fertile mind. So, now I can't even rely on my best friend, doggy-dog-dog anymore.
Bertstravels is sorely disappointed.
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