All Creatures In Hell Great And Small

August 12, 2025

   On the drive home from Payson on Sunday I spied a very tall cloud formation over New River Mesa. This morning I tried to capture what I saw on paper.

Daily Whip Out:

"Sky High Thunderhead"

   If I had to guess, the phenom seems to be activated by mountain clouds drifting over New River Mesa and when they hit the hot air of Cave Creek they go straight up 40,000 feet to get away from the heat. I can relate and it's pretty spectacular to see. Not sure I captured the massiveness of it.

   Someone asked me how my weekend in Payson went and I said, "Long drive, too hot but I hung out with great people." Which, when you think about it, is probably a good analogy for hell.

   Speaking of hell, have you watched tv lately? Is it just me or is it wall to wall crap?

Yearning for Civility

  I believe there is a longing for civility. How else could you explain my infatuation with this PBS show? 

   It's a clever little show set in the countryside of England in 1936. When Kathy recommended it, I was like, "Whatever" which is code for I am going to absolutely hate this! 

   On the show we hear ominous radio news reports from Chamberlain about Hitler ("Peace at last") but the events in the show are centered around a family of veterinarians dealing with primarily dogs, horses and cows (thus the title). The show is a balm for our current strife and I absolutely love it! I am so exhausted by the overwrought sound effects and raunchy behavior on all the shows and movies currently bombarding us with "damaged" characters writ large and plot twists that wring our collective necks every fifteen seconds. On one of the All Creatures shows, I swear, the punchline to the entire episode is a gentle kiss while sitting on the roof of an old barn.

   Damn sweet if you ask me and just what the doctor ordered.

"If you really want to piss people off, you can do two things; attain some happiness or tell the truth."

—Tennessee Williams