Cheetah looking up - Cincinnati Zoo

Cheetah looking up - Cincinnati Zoo
Originally uploaded by ozimanndias8

This cheetah is looking right at me. I was mewing, and she responded. Their meows do not match their size--they sound like housecats!

I'm sure she thought I was another stupid person making noises at her, but at least she looked right at me. She ignored everybody else making a ruckus.

When I saw the photograph below in the March 2008 Smithsonian, a memory of a daydream was reawakened. I have it clipped and stuck in a journal. Isn't it strange how daydreams can be, sneaking up on you out of the blue, out of the years, fading away, and returning with the force of the tide? One of my strong memories, and ones that I look forward to making, are walks with my dog(s) (plural for the dogs that we have not yet gotten, but will--they are already named, too: Mitzpah and King George), so seeing this picture of a lady and her cheetah evoked not only my daydream of walking with wild things, but the more domestic memories of my old dog Bear. Daydream and memory fused.

Be careful what you wish for

I came across this title at work: American Annals of the Deaf and Dumb.

This reminded me of how sometimes I would think about what it would be like to live "back then," such as in Jane Austen's time. Then I would wonder what it would really be like if I was transported warts, hearing impairment and all, into the Regency era. I suppose, considering the fact that I've been hard of hearing (to the point that I am more likely to feel thunder, not hear it) since I was little, I would be considered dumb, especially if I did not have someone like Anne Sullivan to work with me. It's a sobering realization, especially just for daydreaming--I shouldn't be so literal in my imagination.

By the way, the title was changed to American Annals of the Deaf in 1886.