My cousin had 18 cats at one point. He lived next to public land in Florida in a spot where people frequently dumped cats, and most of them ended up living in his house. He had a room with a kiddie pool filled with litter. He’s also a die-hard white supremacist despite being half-Thai, proof that people are complicated.
A great book on this subject is The Last Grain Race by Eric Newby, an autobiographical account of the author’s trip around the world as a crewman on Moshulu just before WWII broke out. Interestingly, Moshulu went on to star in The Godfather Part II (as the ship that brings young Vito Corleone to the US) and is now a floating restaurant in Philadelphia.
I’m a school bus driver and it’s genuinely depressing how often I see a parent waiting with their kid for the bus, face down in their phone instead of paying the slightest bit of attention to their child. I also find it depressing to see a person walking their dog while looking at their phone - not sure dogs actually give a shit but somehow they manage to look sad and neglected anyway in these situations.
It’s amazing that Chad Smith, Flea and John Frusciante are all at top of their respective instruments, in a band led by a guy who isn’t even the best shitty rapper.
I loved the Pogo comic strip (old shit from the '50s and one of the main influences on Bill Waterson for Calvin and Hobbes) growing up and it gave me the habit of using non-words like “momenterribly”. I know it makes people think I’m a moron and I don’t care.
It also gave me the habit of saying “Friday the 13th fall on a Tuesday this month”. Same effect and same apathy on my part.
My mom was a hippie and made her own bread and we always ate homemade food. When I went away to camp, I was the one pigging out on the sugary breakfast cereals like Froot Loops etc. while the other kids were busy being amazed by the eggs and pancakes and whatnot.