WordPress Daily Feline Prompt: No, Meow

Is there a place in the world you never want to visit? Everywhere

“Why should Fluffy and I go somewhere else?”

“Of course Tabby, when we have the table laid in the garden, just four paws away, there is no reason to travel.”

“OK felines, I just thought you might like a change. Somewhere nice in the country with some different scenery.”

“And how do we get to this nice place Mrs. Human?”

“I would take you both in the car.”

“No way Mrs. Human. Cars are things for taking felines to vets, a real Rocky Feline Horror Picture Show. Forced into a cage, rocked up and down and then the big shock with jabs and thermometers in private places Fluffy, don’t believe her. It is all a trick to get us to go somewhere. No, we will remain where we are. Permanent full dish of food, even if it is only vitamin pellets you have to force down your throat and our own cat tray which the person we own cleans.”

“I just thought you would like a little change.”

“Tabby I do not want a change.”

“Don’t worry Fluffy, we stay where we are. See what you have done Mrs. Human, Fluffy is nervous and is spraying his territory.”

“Yes Tabby, I can smell it. Thank goodness we are in the garden.”

“Talking of the garden Mrs. Human, I think I will take a walk.”

“I will come with you Tabby. How shall we do it. A quiet sleek or a quick pounce.”

“We will combine it Fluffy. Sleek up as near as possible and when they are stuffing themselves with birdseed and think they are safe we will pounce.”

“No, Fluffy and Tabby, there will be no pouncing.”

“Mrs. Human do you have to speak in such a loud voice. That big fat juicy bird has now flown away.”

“That was the idea felines. I was thinking about a nice plate of tuna fish.”

“OK, but garnished with catnip Mrs. Human.”

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WordPress Daily Prompt: No Thank You

If you could permanently ban a word from general usage, which one would it be? Why?

Photographers, artists, poets: show us NO.

No Thank You – we have had our fair share of rain, dark clouds and storms for this year. This photo was one of those approaching storms in my garden. My poor garden had to work overtime catching up after our cold Spring, which was no Spring, well it was. It just Sprung from Winter to Summer with nothing in between.

Now let us write a blog. The actual title of the prompt includes a word that leaves a bad taste behind. There are countries in this world that have “bans” incorporated in their way of life, meaning no free speech. So let us ban “ban” Yes George Orwell sends his greetings..

Living in a country sharing four languages and English being a common language in usage when nothing else works, I find it difficult to find a forbidden word. Of course I could say let us ban all the swear words, just talk clean and ignore them: much better for the children and for the general environment. It is becoming a trend in Facebook and other social sites to add an “f” word or something similar to perhaps emphasise the point, especially being used in an act of revenge towards someone, although I just cannot fathom why this has to be written in a public place. There is such a thing as e-mail and even a telephone. Personally I do not find it necessary to write it all, but if some people do, then it is their problem. In my moments of solitude where perhaps something goes wrong, do I just say “oh dear” or “what a shame”. To be honest with you all, no, I do not. What I say in my own four walls is my business, I am no angel – who is??

There is one thing that annoys me. Not so much the spoken work, but written. Do we have to write “u 2” when we mean “you too”. I am not very good at this new saving time way of writing and I do possess the ten finger typing system, so I do not need it. Another symbol I have found lately is <3. To be quite honest I still do not really know what this means. I think “heart” or is it “great” – no idea, but Facebook people are using it all over the place. Is the word it replaces so difficult to spell or pronounce, that it has to be substituted by a sign and a number.

So in a nutshell, I would not ban any words. Go ahead and use them, they are all part of our language, even if you think using the odd infamy is a better was of expressing the point you want to make. The people using such expressions so not exactly impress me with a sign of high intelligence. If you have problems with spelling or grammar and you think substituting it all with numbers and letters shows a higher level of intelligence, then it is your problem, but I do not need it. I went to school and learnt how to write and spell.

I have to have a chuckle living in Switzerland in an area where I am surrounded by Swiss German speaking, especially the youngsters. Ask them something and the answer is “no problem” in English of course. Or perhaps the answer “whatsoever” will be given to a remark: lovely how we are all beginning to understand each other. Oh, and the “f” word has now become international. No matter what your mother tongue is, it will be used in the original English version.