Piles

Anybody like piles?

The following is a true story, something I witnessed when studying in Alba Nuah and Alba itself.

An elderly woman had an impacted tooth. Her jaw was swollen, she couldn’t eat, and spent most of her time suffering loudly.

One of my teachers was asked if he could help.

He wrote a prayer (in Scots Gaelic, of course. He regularly told me Scots Gaelic is the only true Gaelic. Evidently God, the angels, and Jesus also speak/spoke Scots Gaelic. I didn’t argue) on a piece of paper, folded it down down down until it was about half-an-inch on a side, and handed it to her.

“Chew this on your tooth. Your pain will go away and your tooth will be healed.”

She doubted, but he was well known for his knowledge and abilities, so chew she did.

After about five minutes of chewing, she looked up, her eyes wide, and smiled. “The pain’s gone!”

Her husband, watching carefully, said, “I wonder if that’d work for piles.”

My teacher almost fell over laughing.

I did, too.

But still I wonder.

And here, Hecate, Hermoine, and their piles.

Enjoy.

Enjoy.

 

Welcome Erasmus

Behold Erasmus.

At first somewhat shy, then not so much so.

It’s amazing what free food can do.

Coyote are like that.

Free food, little effort, it’s a good thing. Especially in The Wild.

I noticed much the same during the middle to late 1980s where the mere mention of free sex and cocaine would cause people to flock from miles around.

Did I say “miles”?

More like states.

Pretty easy to do in New England.

And in the meantime, we’ll let Erasmus dine.

Enjoy.

 

Nothing like a Good Scratch

Continuing from last week’s Oh, They’re Quick, You know…, a somewhat longer installment in the ongoing lives of Coyote.

First, let’s recognize there’s nothing like a good scratch.

Scratching, with humans, has many triggers. Often humans scratching is simply a response to something moving on the skin. An insect, for example, or a piece of falling debris.

It can also be an indication of uncleanliness, and that gets us into grooming behaviors, something I discuss in my That Th!nk You Do books. Not all grooming behaviors are triggered by uncleanliness and all grooming behaviors have a social function even when the individual is self-grooming.

One of most fascinating triggers for scratching is BMIRs – Behavioral Manifestations of Internal Responses.

The individual who scratches their face, their arms, their hands, their head, any body part, is often signalling an internal response to their environment, their situation, what’s going on around them and what they’re immediately focusing their attention on.

That last part – immediately focusing their attention on – is important. A BMIR can be triggered by a memory, an anticipated event (future projection). I explain aspects of BMIRs in the aforementioned That Th!nk You Do books and also demonstrate their use in my The Augmented Man.

(not suggesting you buy them (although you should!), just sharing resources for you)

The Wild is not much different.

So beware.

The Wild has memories and anticipations, too.

 

Oh, They’re Quick, You know…

They can be quick, you know.

Sneaky.

And quick.

Perhaps they have something else to do?

Ever wonder if The Wild makes appointments?

If Coyote has other matters it must attend?

Aside from changing seasons, aside from sudden weather changes (is there such a thing as a “sudden weather change” in The Wild? I mean, aren’t they aware of such things? Doesn’t their weather-wizardry put Two-Legs’ best meteorologists to shame? One wonders…).

They know they must return to their den, their nest, their roost, their burrow, to feed young, to check on mates, to do things only The Old Ones alone know how to do or which even should be done?

One wonders…

If only we had the millions of years of accumulated wisdom as do they.

We do, of course. We are both products of evolution.

The big difference, me thinks, is they pay attention.

We don’t.

 

Mom and Pop Have Hungry Pups

There is a joy in sharing one’s bounty with the bountyless.

At least for us.

Long ago we made the mistake of openly giving to charities.

It was amazing how many hands appeared outside our door.

Hands attached to Two-Legs.

Blech!

Since then we’ve set things up to give anonymously.

We, ourselves, have no money to give.

Happy to give of our time, our knowledge, our experience, our backs.

Amusing anecdote along those lines.

More than thirty years ago I was involved with a non-profit center. They had no money for office software, lots of members, and lots of needs.

I was considered something of a programming wiz at the time and offered to develop a custom management system for them specific to their needs, no charge.

Wow! Sure! Thanks!

A month or so later I presented them with the system, the documentation, trained their staff, got pats on the back and many thanks, and left.

The next time I returned people were nervous around me. Not offish, only anxious. Confused, I said, “You do know the office system was a gift. I don’t want to be paid for it.”

The Director said she understood. I shrugged and looked around. “What can I do next?”

She explained their anxiety was around I gave them such a gift, way beyond what they could afford, and now they didn’t know what to do with me because there were no other software needs.

I laughed. “Joseph’s also good at lifting heavy boxes.”

She stared at me for a moment then burst out laughing. “Yeah. Right. I forgot that what you did when you first came to us.”

Two-Legs often stop seeing the person and start seeing a job.

Pity that.