Vagueness and the Aftermath - A sporadic diary

[Rod Paradise]

Peggy Junior actually. A chip off the old log, if you'll pardon the expression.

Nice lad. Bright, smiley, clean.....   He did however lack a certain ambience.

You should "bump" the Pggy Shitter story, for your newer readers & converts.

In a way, a story about a bloke called Peggy Shitter, & his trade, seems very well suited to your Diary, if I may make so bold.

bump

These have Snoopy's name on because he archived them.

Please excuse the sloppy, uncultured punctuation.  



http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.php?topic=4133.msg94716#msg94716

Know the story inside and out, but still laugh every time I read that post.

Likewise    (now up well past me bedtime giggling away having read the whole Best of Red thread - genius!!!!)

So Red, does that mean Mrs Red needs to buy a new cup again - or is Young Master Shitter clean enough for it to be kept?

[RED-DOG]

Peggy Junior actually. A chip off the old log, if you'll pardon the expression.

Nice lad. Bright, smiley, clean.....   He did however lack a certain ambience.

You should "bump" the Pggy Shitter story, for your newer readers & converts.

In a way, a story about a bloke called Peggy Shitter, & his trade, seems very well suited to your Diary, if I may make so bold.

bump

These have Snoopy's name on because he archived them.

Please excuse the sloppy, uncultured punctuation. 



http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.php?topic=4133.msg94716#msg94716

Know the story inside and out, but still laugh every time I read that post.

Likewise 

So Red, does that mean Mrs Red needs to buy a new cup again - or is Young Master Shitter clean enough for it to be kept?

Shitter junior is the complete opposite of his dad. He wears Bio-Hazard proof clothing, anti-splash glasses, disposable overshoes and several pairs of gloves.

Each pair of gloves is dedicated to a separate task. There's a pair for connecting pipes and turning valves, a pair for opening and closing the lid of the septic tank, a pair for driving the lorry, and a pair for wearing inside all the other pairs.

When he removes the gloves, he washes his hands in antibacterial liquid.

Mrs Red still smashes his cup as soon as he's gone. 

[RED-DOG]

I had a busy week last week one way & another, so I didn't have much time to watch or read the news, but it seems that while I was looking the other way, the Americans slipped quietly out of Iraq after 9 years.

The statistics seem to vary depending on the source, but a the average estimates seem to be in the region of 4500 US soldiers killed, and 32000 wounded.

I found a figure 150,000 Iraqi dead, but I don't suppose that includes civilians.

There were 168 journalists killed - 98 by murder, 52 by acts of war and 14 by US Forces.

There are loads of other crazy stats - Iraqi Insurgents Killed, (What is an insurgent?) Roughly Estimated - 55,000. Non-Iraqi Contractors and Civilian Workers Killed - 572.  Non-Iraqi Kidnapped - 306, including 57 killed, 147 released, 4 escaped, 6 rescued and 89 status unknown.

The most staggering stat for me though (And I know it shouldn't be) is the amount of money it cost.

One trillion dollars up front, and another trillion in additional costs by 2050.

A trillion! What is that, a thousand billion?  I can't even begin to imagine numbers like that. Apparently, it takes 32 years for a billion seconds to pass, and a trillion is a thousand times that? Wow!

I'm not making any judgement on the rights and wrongs of the war. I'm a simple man, I really don't know enough about it, but I do wonder what would happen if they took a trillion dollars and invested it in cancer research.

[RED-DOG]

Tom, Im cross posting from Tikays diary, disappointed you missed the back handed compliment!

I didnt read Tikays or Red Dogs diary for 2+ years of being a member here -  i didnt know them, when I popped in it was always "trains" or " educated worldly stuff" (   ), so why would I read about that from  them? Then someone starts posting about buildings and concrete and we are away!

I know it doesn't work as well a week later, but alas, I'm slowing down.

I was lying awake in bed this morning when a snappy reply to your post finally came to me. 

"Yeah, we really cemented our relationship".

[Laxie]

Tom, Im cross posting from Tikays diary, disappointed you missed the back handed compliment!

I didnt read Tikays or Red Dogs diary for 2+ years of being a member here -  i didnt know them, when I popped in it was always "trains" or " educated worldly stuff" (   ), so why would I read about that from  them? Then someone starts posting about buildings and concrete and we are away!

I know it doesn't work as well a week later, but alas, I'm slowing down.

I was lying awake in bed this morning when a snappy reply to your post finally came to me. 

"Yeah, we really cemented our relationship".

Poor Mrs. Red

[RED-DOG]

Tom, Im cross posting from Tikays diary, disappointed you missed the back handed compliment!

I didnt read Tikays or Red Dogs diary for 2+ years of being a member here -  i didnt know them, when I popped in it was always "trains" or " educated worldly stuff" (   ), so why would I read about that from  them? Then someone starts posting about buildings and concrete and we are away!

I know it doesn't work as well a week later, but alas, I'm slowing down.

I was lying awake in bed this morning when a snappy reply to your post finally came to me. 

"Yeah, we really cemented our relationship".

Poor Mrs. Red

Oh it's OK. She enjoys being regaled by my early morning musings. In fact, I often hear her sigh softly in admiration.

[bobAlike]

I'm not making any judgement on the rights and wrongs of the war. I'm a simple man, I really don't know enough about it, but I do wonder what would happen if they took a trillion dollars and invested it in cancer research.

Not trying to be cynical but I think you'd have a lot of richer pharma companies.

EDIT:  should read I am being cynical

[RED-DOG]

I'm not making any judgement on the rights and wrongs of the war. I'm a simple man, I really don't know enough about it, but I do wonder what would happen if they took a trillion dollars and invested it in cancer research.

Not trying to be cynical but I think you'd have a lot of richer pharma companies.

EDIT:  should read I am being cynical

Sadly, it's a good point.

[RED-DOG]

The goldfinch is now a fairly regular visitor to the teasel.

I want to get a photograph, but birds are notoriously difficult. I need to get close, but I can't. He's as shy as a simile involving an inexperienced young lady in an amorous situation. 

 

[RED-DOG]

Apparently, I have to go out and enjoy myself tonight.

Bugger!

[Karabiner]

I think you should put your foot down Tom.

I thought Mrs Red knew that you don't like enjoying yourself.

[RED-DOG]

That's it. I've enjoyed as much as I can stand.

[sovietsong]

Does mrs red really smash his cup? I find this type of stuff fascinating. The spoon thing too. Mrs red would hate my new place of work... Don't think I've seen a clean spoon/anything since starting!!

[RED-DOG]

Does mrs red really smash his cup? I find this type of stuff fascinating. The spoon thing too. Mrs red would hate my new place of work... Don't think I've seen a clean spoon/anything since starting!!

Yes, she does.

We're not particularly fastidious, but we (Gypsies) have certain hygiene rules.

Some things are, or can become unclean. 'Mokadi'.

I wrote about it earlier in the thread. (See C&P Below)



Cleanliness is very important to Gypsies, and there is a strict code of what is and is not acceptable. Anything that does not comply with this code is considered 'Chickli or Mokadi'.

Chickli is a simple word, it translates as "Unclean" "Dirty" or "Filthy".

 Mokadi on the other hand, is much more complex. It doesn't have a direct translation, in fact now that I come to try, it's really difficult to tell you what it does mean. It's a combination of all the words I've already used, "Unclean" "Dirty" "Filthy" etc, mixed with a concept of cleanliness. Imagine there is a standard, a benchmark for good practice where hygiene is concerned. Mockadi would be something that falls below that standard.

Boy! This is hard to explain in text. Let me give you an example of something that would be considered Mokadi.


The kitchen sink, or the washing up bowl, is used for washing crockery, cooking and eating utensils. That's it. Period.

You can't wash you're hands or face in it, you can't clean your teeth or shave in it, and you can't be sick in it, even in an emergency. If someone did, it would be mokadi and you would have to replace the washing up bowl. In years gone by, you would have even had to replace the kitchen sink.

As time goes on, some of the more extreme mokadi laws are relaxing a little, and nowadays, if you have an enlightened wife, you might just get away with scrubbing the sink with caustic soda and then washing it out with several gallons of bleach, but in my youth, I've seen no end of very expensive Royal Worcester, Evesham, Minton, and Crown Derby crockery smashed on the spot because a dog licked it, or sniffed too close.

The only things allowed on a kitchen work surface are things specifically designed for use in the preparation and consumption of food. You can't put a shopping bag, an item of clothing, or anything else on there, otherwise, it would be mokadi

Similar mokadi laws govern things like personal hygiene, the washing and storing of underwear and bedding, the language used in the presence of girls or women, moral values, decency, modesty and so on.

Capiche?  No. I thought not. Nevermind.


Now (mokadi laws notwithstanding), there are some aspects of cleanliness that are important to others, but not so important to us, and I believe that it is from these differences (along with hundreds of years of anti Gypsy propaganda) that the concept of "Dirty Gypsy" arose.

As they go about their daily business, Gypsies don't worry too much about trying to keep their clothes, or their hands and faces clean.

Until very recently, Gypsies spent the vast majority of their waking lives outdoors. Be they working, tending livestock, hunting, making things to sell, or relaxing by the campfire, they did it outdoors. Now remember, this is not on a deck chair in the garden outdoors, or walking along a city street outdoors. This is living outdoors, in a field, or on a grass verge by the roadside.

You're hands and face get dirty, and your clothes get dirty. It's a natural state of affairs, you're not embarrassed or self conscious about it. Of course, you remove your dirty clothes and wash thoroughly before you go to bed, but no one ever sees you then.

Modern day Gypsies are a little different, but only a little. They have big (By comparison) well appointed caravans and they don't have to spend so much time outside. As a consequence they look a bit tidier, but they still spend a lot of their time outdoors and they still don't mind looking scruffy. In fact I often see Gypsy men dressed in expensive suits  (perhaps at a wedding or something) crawl under a lorry that they are interested in buying, or walk through mud a foot deep to look at some horses with never a thought for their apparel. What's more, no one at the function would bat an eyelid when they walked in all dishevelled.

The way we bring our children up means that  they are going to get dirty. We encourage them to try everything. We let them learn as many of life's lessons as they can while they are young. If they get a few knocks along the way, all the better.

Our kids are expected to learn quickly and accept responsibility early. you can't do that while worrying if your mam is going to scold you for getting your trousers dirty.

I seem to have rambled on a bit here. I've only addressed half the issue and I don't think I've done that very well.  I suppose what I'm trying to say is just because Gypsies often look dirty, it doesn't mean that they are dirty.

Well they are, but not where it matters.

[sovietsong]

Thanks Tom, I've read that before but still love reading it again. Not sure why I'm so facinated by the cleaning bit but I am!!