A Bright Light In The Darkness

Balloon Fiesta from Michael Salisbury on Vimeo.

Sometimes all you need is a little bit of hope.

Keep Your Eye On The Bird

There was 24 hours last week when Roxy was ready to move along and find another lady to live with. On Friday, an inspector was due to come in and inspect the furnace (yes, I do have one in hotter-than-H-E-double hockey sticks LA) and replace the smoke detector. In order to prepare for the visit, I decided to prevent Roxy from inadvertantly running away from home should the front door be left open by the inspector by putting her in the bathroom before I left for work. Unfortunately, Roxy knows how to open the bathroom door. Or so she thinks...in her jumping attempts to open the door, she locked the door.

I called the HMA on the way to work and he had to come over and find Juan (the lovely maintenance man) and get him to break Roxy out of the slammer. The HMA has a soft spot for Roxy. He called me on the phone and told me that she was quivering when she was released from her confinement. I could read-between-the lines enough to understand that they were both none too happy with me. And then on Saturday, the nice ladies who clean my place showed up with a vacuum cleaner. Roxy hid out between the pillows on the bed until the coast was clear. While she was in hiding, I washed her red sofa blanket. It's no wonder that she spent all day Sunday stretched out in the middle of the living room sleeping in relaxed comfort on her blanket. It's cold, wet and cloudy here in LA...and I've been looking forward to a fire in the fireplace all day. I wonder what Roxy will think of that? I wonder if she'll share her blanket?

Meanwhile, we've been watching a cop show on the A&E network called "The Glades." The main character is very blithe and breezy. At first, I didn't like it -- but the show has grown on me and I'm completely obsessed. You can imagine my surprise when I discovered that the guy playing a Chicago cop who moves to Florida -- is actually Australian. Say what?

It's Like A Whole Different Sex

R.I.P. Tony Curtis -- aka Josephine. I remember seeing him at an appearance before a screening of "Some Like It Hot" at a theatre in downtown Los Angeles. He so enjoyed being a movie star. They started the movie and he wouldn't leave the stage. He was still standing there when his credit came up on the screen at the beginning of the movie. The crowd gave him a standing "O." I've never seen anyone enjoy it more.

Happy Birthday, Betty!

We're sending out best wishes from the west coast to the northwoods. I hope that you're better about sharing your toys than Roxy...but then you know what an only child is like. Hey! Where's the bird?

Crazy Cat Lady & International Super Spy

Would you believe that the nice little old lady little living alone with her cats in a little flat in a small seaside village in England turns out to be an international war hero and WWII superspy? I would. She probably learned all her secret stuff from her cats.

The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

It's happened again. Fall has begun and I've been too busy too notice. It's my favorite season. I love apples, and gourds and pumpkins and mums. And then there's the candy corn. I love candy corn. I've had my little nose to the grindstone so I haven't been enjoying the wonders of the season as much as I should. The weather has turned cool here in SoCal. It really is like autumn. Although the forecasters are already predicting the arrival of the blistering hot Santa Ana winds this weekend...and with those winds the brush fires arrive. In the mean time, I've been enjoying brief moments to read short articles online. I found this one about a little squirrel who was adopted by a cat. And then there was this delightful story about a horse farm in Maryland that is mending the souls of more than just horses. And finally, despite my overwhelming better judgement, I watched a feature news story about the dogs who were found alive on Michael Vick's property when the police raided his dog fighting ring. Everything about this story makes me want to look the other way...but I watched it and was touched. I'm even thinking about buying the book. And making a donation to Johnny Justice -- the newest member of the world of therapy dogs. How far you've come, Johnny! You little tail wagger.

Only 99 Cats To Go...

This is what I fear happens when I'm at work. Roxy has a few friends over and the next thing you know...there's a party going on. It's actually a new commercial for Ikea. They let 100 house cats loose in a store in England....but how did they ever get them all to come back?