Mr. Scalzi Goes to Columbus
Posted on September 6, 2023 Posted by John Scalzi 8 Comments
And, in fact, I went to the Statehouse! To barge into the Governor’s office to give him a piece of my mind, as is my right as a citizen of Ohio? No, they would have dragged me off to jail, come on. I was there to record a bit for the Ohio Channel (the state-run public video channel) in conjunction with the Ohioana Awards in a couple of weeks, and to have lunch with the Ohioana librarians. It was a lovely, if brief, visit. Now I’m back home, where almost instantly a cat shoved her butt into my face, so let’s just say the afterglow of roaming the halls of power was fleeting to say the least. There’s probably a lesson in there for us all.
— JS
You always have to expect some feline push back when you haven’t been doing your real job.
Sugar? Because aren’t Spice and Smudge male cats…?
Well, the highlight of having a cat shove her butt in your face (Spice is my guess), is special.
I recently learned that when a cat shoves his or her butt into your face, that’s a big gesture of trust and friendship.
Cats as well as dogs sniff each other’s butts to see how they’re doing (hence the friendship), and turning their back on you means they’re letting themselves be in a vulnerable pose (hence the trust).
So take it as a loving gesture.
(Cats that display their butts to the assembled during Zoom calls are hoping for someone, anyone, to give them a sniff.)
You come to my neck of the woods and didn’t even say “Hi!” I’d be offended, except you have no idea who the hell I am. I hope the folks in the Statehouse were properly deferential (even if the cats weren’t).
So much truth in your observation about the fleeting nature of power. I have spent a lot of time with some very powerful people, only to watch them leave office and vanish from the public eye. When they could give something to people, they were wanted, but when that power evaporated, so did the adoration. Because of course it did.
Supreme Court Justice Blackmun would sometimes introduce himself by saying “I work for the government.” I wish more of our elected officials had similar humility.
Cat Butt Fever anyone? The song works just as well with just that one word changed. Even considering the oh-so-subtle double entendre.
nah… there’s no emotional impact from scrolling through 1000’s of emails (and/or texts) akin to watching Jimmy Stewart and those sacks ‘n sacks of paper-based letters…