Nox Blox

(sorry for the delay in posting...here goes the catch-up reports)
Saturday
My boyfriend and I do lunch with some friends, and that evening go to a friend's house for a cook out. One of my favorite things in the world is to sit outside on someone's back deck, talking into the night. I also like card and board games with friends, and if someone is handy enough with a guitar, a night time sing-a-long is nice, but all I need is the relaxed deck-talking to suffice.

The past-time of deck-talking should be carefully paired with the correct beverage, which is determined by who you are with, the time of year and the time of day. Afternoon in the fall with a friend is high tea, change it to the summer and its fresh lemonade. Cool early spring evenings are coffee, no matter how many people are present. But sometimes, it should be beer. As stated before, I'm a beer snob. So cool early spring evenings is Guiness, whereas fall should be a hoppy ale, perhaps something like a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. But every now and again, particularly in late spring to summer, its something more refreshing. Margaritas, Long Island Ice Teas, or what I call the beer cocktail.

Beer cocktails are one of my glaring exceptions to my otherwise snobby beer life, and my snobby beer friends often believe it a complete falicy bordering on blasphemy, but I stand by it. What I call a beer cocktail is when one adds things to beer normally reserved as an ingredient best found in a carved out watermelon--some kind of fruit salad beverage. In my case, corona with lime. If I think of it as beer I find it coming up short, but as a summer beer cocktail I find it refreshing. It's all in the presentation to the mind.

We had a great grilled steak meal, the cocktails, great conversation, and then the floor show with dessert. Dessert was Nox Blox. Nox is a brand of unflavored gelatin, that when added to jello it makes the jello easy to cut into nearly indestructable cubes. You know how your jello gets a bit melty around the edges on a warm day? Not so with Nox Blox.

The floor show was performed by a 5 mos old beagle puppy named Haley, which my friends have had for just under two weeks. Out of curiousity we put a piece of Nox Blox down onto the deck for Haley, where she eyed the wiggling, jiggling red form suspiciously before lighting sticking her mouth near it for inspection. We were watching her only idly, getting ready to turn back to the conversation when Haley began what I can only assume was some doggy method of exorcism.

The Beagle did NOT like the Nox Blox--not the taste so much, but the whole existence within her world of something totally alien and evil. She pounced to it, front paws on each side, then she'd back up, turn around--giving the Nox Blox fair chance to run away (it just jiggled remorselessly)--then she'd pounce it again. She would paw at it, but at it's touch, she'd leap backwards. She'd pounce towards it, paws framing the threatening cherry dessert, then circle threateningly. She looked to us for help, but she could see no help was to come from people who actually had the gullibility to EAT the evil things.

She would try putting it in her mouth, just at the very edge, but it would wiggle between her doggy lips and out it would go. Nox Blox are fearless, they do not respond to barking or physical threats--sure they quake a bit in fear, but refuse to leave one's territory. Finally she tried tricking the Nox Blox by rolling her head near it. She'd walk up and begin to turn, clearly intending to roll it under her head, but at the last minute she'd realize it would require her touching it, and back off to roll a bit.

Obviously, the only recourse is to walk off and ignore it, but sometimes it seemed to want to follow her--hanging, rolling, or dragging under her chain as she moved away. Eventually unhooked from her leash, she could safely pretend she had never seen it before, and hope it would take a similar stance towards her.

This is a level of denial I would love to attain. Animals are curious about things like Nox Blox, or maybe mirrors, only long enough to ascertain they indeed do not understand it--then one never need believe it's even there again after that.

I think I may try this method of dealing with my boss. When he talks to me I will not look at him, if he moves into my path of vision, my head will simply turn away. When someone points at my manager, I will stare hopefully but full of confusion at the end of their finger.

The animal kingdom understands denial in ways we can only hope to one day crack.