Duet of One

The other day , Geeta and I were walking around the neighborhood- a very pretty place with lovely trees and flowering bushes and I noticed a strange black animal slowly crawling on the grass. It looked a bit like the Meerkat minus the long tail. It was black and large eyed and the size of small cat. So I stopped to stare. Geeta, who likes to keep a mile between her and any animal urged me to come on and I did so obediently. Later I learnt it was a skunk . The animal, if it takes a dislike to you, turns around , it’s butt facing you and squirts an awful juice at you that is supposed be such a stink that you can become a social outcast instantly! I was told that you need to take a bath in tomato ketchup to clean up and get the smell off your person! There is a lot of wild deer and rabbits in the area. In India you would see a dead dog on the highways- here you see dead deer. There are road signs that indicate “Deer Crossing”- apparently the deer use the same route ! And I have seen deer ...

People readily hug each other when greeting. Geeta has been a regular “victim” . The neighbor does it, my realtor does it.. I have not been so lucky though A friend and I were installing his new GPS which has Bluetooth capability and can sync with his cell phone. So when you are driving and a call comes in the cell phone diverts the call to the GPS and you can speak to the GPS. The GPS also refreshes itself with all the phone numbers on the cell phone. So, as I said, we were setting it up and my friend accidentally triggered a call from the GPS and we ended up dialing the 911 number. A clipped voice said” Police” and my friend said” Sorry sir, wrong number!” and hung up. I went to the local laundry store- I decided that it was just too much to spend evenings pressing my clothes . I asked him the charges and he said “Dollar and 80 cents wash and press” . I regret fighting with the local Bhaiya in Mulund when he was charging me 1.25 rupees!! I joined the local Library where you can draw ...

Who would have thought that there is good “literary humor” associated with a simple burger- A “Burger King free coupon” led me to yonder store and I got myself a Burger , and a my son a “value meal”. In case you are wondering why Geeta is not on this list, you should know she is a strict vegetarian. So, I bring home this burgers and we sit down to eat. I notice that the burger wrap and the bag have interesting messages- here is a sample:” Have it your way!” One message praises you for your choice! Another says that you are welcome to mix Sprite and coke – juts have it your way. The dumpster in the store has a message that says “somehow get the trash inside..” Another: “Some fries are mavericks. Free spirits that slip over the cardboard wall and make straight for the bottom of the bag, where they can then plan the next move. We call them spud separatists bagglers, and they’re especially delicious. Maybe it’s because they’re a little out of bounds. Life can be like that.” And another: Yo...