The Murderer of Flies
I'm trying to learn how to be a citizen of the world... to give more than I take, to annoy people less and love them better, and to figure out what my cat is really thinking.
I'm in love with the written word and hope I can apply it moderately well. Love the prose of Pat Conroy. Perhaps some day I might write a string of three or four words that could be his.
I love animals, am addicted to reading research, like to sing opera, sleep with a cat snuggled against my tummy, and hope the mockingbird outside our bedroom never leaves. He is a companion on sleepless nights.
I have a degree in music which I don't use much and a doctorate in psychology which I use quite a bit. Most recently, I have been using it in teaching and writing.
I'm madly in love with my husband and outside of physical death, cannot imagine that we will ever part ways... and even that is temporary. Every ball game is dodgeball to me and stationery balls aren't my friends. I cannot hit a golf ball to save my life, and am perpetually mystified by the seductive hold it has on its adherents. They seem so normal when you talk to them.
I ride dressage - not well any longer. My favorite cat is allergic to her own tooth enamel, necessitating the extraction of all but the four anchoring canines. I think golden retrievers are the best dogs in the world and I want to get a really tall Tennessee walker because I have two new knees and like a smooth horse with a long stride. I won't eat any animals except for fish the marine biologists call "eco-friendly." No mammals or fowl. I'm speciesist.
I like The Humane Society well enough but think PETA is a bit around the bend. They criticized President Obama for killing a fly. I do that. I am a fly murderer. I have no remorse.
I have four kids who grew up (they're so cute when they do that) - two biological and two we took in when they were orphaned. Their parents died three months apart. Unimaginable. I like to say I would be a much better parent if I didn't have kids. People think that's a joke.
I think it's important to donate blood. I eat too much pasta, love comedy movies, and flatly refuse to watch Precious ever again. I'm a shrink. I've seen enough pain. I'm not sophisticated enough to understand why The Hurt Locker won that Oscar. Felt it should have gone to Avatar for the sheer beauty of it. Yes, I know the story wasn't profound and those people on Fox News accused it of being... what was it? Political? Some sort of liberal Hollywood plot involving a cinematic denunciation of America. It couldn't have had anything to do with wanting to make a beautiful film and pocket a lot of cash.
I'm disgusted with politicians - it seems all they do is campaign. I don't understand how those "pregnancy emergency" places get away with lying to people, and I'm not threatened by gay marriage. It's not like we straight people have done a bang-up job of "protecting" marriage. And I don't understand why so many people are having babies as unmarried couples. I guess I'm old-fashioned.
I love science - deeply love science. And I love God. I'll never understand why people think there is a conflict. I guess if you take the Bible literally, you might have a problem. But which translation? And what about those parts that contradict each other? Sounds like a lot of work.
I hope I'm a decent person. I hope I give more than I take. I hope I am thought of as kind, before anything else. If I accomplish that - kindness to others - I will feel like a success. That is my biggest life goal - to be kind. To be helpful. To love well. I experience failures on all counts with dazzling regularity.
Now you know everything about me. The things that matter, anyway.
© 2010 by Alice Clearman Fusco
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