Monday, July 2, 2007 - Today, Yuoo saw a movie called "Ratatouille." It's the story about a rat who becomes a French chef. The story and the animation were quite good.
After the movie, Yuoo went grocery shopping. Instead of frozen or canned ingredients, he got fresh produce: mushrooms, fancy cheese, onions, non-dried pasta, etc. He told me that the movie made him hungry for something fancier than what he usually eats. It probably wouldn't be a bad idea for him to try out Chez Pierre, a restaurant in Loblolly.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007 - Last week, Yuoo tried to cook a gourmet meal, but it didn't turn out so well. (The noodles turned into mush.) I don't really think that "fine" foods are his thing. A few days later, he made some cellery potato hash, and it turned out really well. I think Yuoo is better with "hearty" dishes.
Something sad happened a few days ago. There was a young female dove named Cary who attended Mortar Abbey. Well, a few days ago, she was killed in a car accident. Yuoo never knew her very well, but he did pray for her family, and he signed his name to a sympathy card.
When Yuoo came home yesterday night, his voice was a bit hoarse. I asked him about it, and he told me that he has joined the choir at Mortar Abbey. He is singing tenor, and they've been practicing on a swingin' Gospel song.
Tonight, Yuoo heard that the newest Harry Otter movie is premiering at midnight. After choir practice, he went to the movie theater to see if there was still time to get a ticket. Well, even two hours before the show, there was a long line outside the theater, of people who already had tickets!
Wednesday, July 11, 2007 - Tonight, Yuoo ate dinner with his friends at Mortar Abbey. For about a month or so, an elderly echidna named George has been visiting periodically. George is rather thin and feeble. (He walks with a walker, the kind with tennis balls on the back legs.) His teeth are almost completely gone, so it’s hard to understand what he says sometimes. Even though his quills are dulled with age, his mind is not. He likes to tell stories from his life, and he writes articles exploring the existence of a substance called AEther.
Well, Yuoo learned tonight that he is homeless. In previous weeks, Yuoo saw his friends offering to drive George “home,” so this week he volunteered. George directed him to a small house a few streets away from Mortar Abbey. Yuoo helped him up to the front porch. Yuoo asked him if someone would be there to let him inside, and George replied that he would sleep outside in a porch chair! (George made a phone call to the house’s owner beforehand at Mortar Abbey, so Yuoo knew he wasn’t trespassing.)
Well, leaving an elderly gentleman to sleep on a front porch made Yuoo feel rather awkward. (It was hot and sticky outside, there were mosquitoes, and it wasn’t exactly the safest neighborhood.) While he spoke with George, the front porch light came on, and an elderly female mole came out, wearing a simple housedress. Yuoo learned that the two of them are old friends. She doesn't have room or stamina to take care of him, but she sometimes allows him to sleep on the front porch when he comes by. Yuoo feels sorry for her because he knows she has a kind heart. She often tries to convince him to go to a group home or even a homeless shelter, but George is a rather stubborn old echidna. He loves his independence, even if it brings danger to himself.
When Yuoo thinks about George’s situation, part of him wants to invite George into his own house, but Yuoo knows that that wouldn’t be a good idea. Tomorrow, Yuoo plans to speak with the elders of Mortar Abbey about this. The good creatures there already give George friendship and sometimes a meal, but perhaps there’s not much else they can give him if he doesn’t accept it.
Also, tonight they had a small memorial service for Cary Dove.
Thursday, July 12, 2007 - Something rather bizarre happened today. After work, Yuoo went to Mortar Abbey to meet with his friend, Trevor the Lion, for a group study session. Well, as Yuoo arrived, Trevor was on the telephone talking to a soft drink company representative.
You see, a soda that Trevor purchased had been contaminated with a foreign object. It was a 2-liter bottle of Koshka-Kola. When Trevor unsealed the bottle for the first time, it started to foam and overflow slightly, as if it had been shaken up. Then, two mint candies came out of the bottle! They were two Minty-Oh's candies tied together with a bit of string. (Several people in the room looked at the two pieces, and most people agreed that they were Minty-Oh candies.)
You see, it's pretty well-known that if you mix Minty-Oh's with Koshka-Kola, it causes the soda to fizz and spill everywhere.
Well, what I'm about to tell you next is only conjecture, so please don't spread it around until the story is verified. I think that someone at the bottling plant put those mint candies into the soda as a practical joke. Although food-product contamination is a serious thing, I'm glad that it wasn't something dangerous like syringes.
Well, Trevor has called a representative from Koshka-Kola, and someone will come by to inspect the mints and the remaining soda.
Monday, July 16, 2007 - Yuoo has confirmed to me that last Thursday's soda incident was not, in fact, the soda company's fault. Instead, it was the result of a prank done by Eric Otter, the Practical-Joker-in-Chief of Mortar Abbey.
I hereby appologize to the Koshka-Kola Company and all employees therein.