Introducing Inexplicable Clip-Art

My Friday morning plans were cancelled, so I have a few moments to bother y'all with a new post. Just so you know, I was up and dressed and ready to go. I even had my hair pulled back into a pony tail, which is unusual for me; while it gets my hair out of the way (and it's grown long enough to reach my shoulder blades now), pony tails give me an almost instant headache.

Why the focus on hair style and cancelled plans? Jazzee, our day dog, is moving. Well, her mom is actually the one making that decision, though the way Ruth talks, Jazzee is merely a hairy human and probably has an IQ higher than most people. If Jazzee were allowed her say, I'm sure she would protest. After all, she has her yard and her bed and her basket of toys and she gets to come play with kids during the day. Why in the world would she think of moving away? But Ruth is going to live with her son in a different state, and Jazzee will be going along because Ruth loves her to pieces and can't do without her. Jazzee will adjust because she has one advantage humans do not, hairy or otherwise: she doesn't analyze and dream about the past and the future.

So a bunch of us went to Ruth's house this morning, prepared to haul out the furniture and all the boxes we've been steadily packing for the last two weeks. It's amazing how much stuff one person can accumulate, even when she claims she "doesn't have much."

Anyway, when we pulled up and saw other kind volunteers milling about, we found out Ruth's son was just leaving his house, which is not in this state and which is a lengthy amount of travel time away from where we are. Miscommunication. Plenty of bogus phone calls made based on that miscommunication. So Ruth's moving plans are put on hold until tomorrow, and Jazzee gets a day of reprieve.

This gives me time to explore what I would like to call

Inexplicable Clip-Art

I bought a book of 80s-style clip-art at the thrift store because the pictures amused me. This one, in particular, is ready to tell some sort of tale, so let's explore a little, shall we?

Question:

What child has ever willingly posed for a picture with clowns?

I don't care if it's the circus and your kids are panting with excitement to see the elephants, when the clowns get too close, there's going to be screaming. Who can trust a being with such a huge, fixed, brightly painted smile, weird hair, and a penchant for squirting you in the face with innocent flowers? I think this little girl is secretly crying inside and will probably be scarred for life. Look how she's clutching her doll (which is also a clown, by the way) so tightly to her chest, hoping it will shield her from the clown on her right, who is holding one of those "innocent" flowers.

Her mother is telling her to say cheese, but she's just waiting for the right moment to bolt.

Any small person who is faced with some sort of creepy and unnatural creature is going to have some fears about it. I was the Easter Bunny at a mall for a season some two decades ago, and I can guarantee that no one under the age of seven who was forced to sit on my lap for a cute photo did so without screaming. Some of them even peed their pants, which, of course, wet my fur. Those kids are grown up now and still wondering why they feel vaguely frightened when they see those pictures.

Funny story: my across-the-street-neighbor came in with his girlfriend and paid to have their photo taken while they perched on my knees. How cute and charming of him.

They probably assumed I was a guy, but the much younger and far more slim version of myself was in that overwhelmingly warm and furry costume and horribly heavy bunny head trying not to groan out loud at their combined weight that threatened to break my femurs. I think I'll post that story on his Facebook page right now because I don't think I ever told him about it.