It is the plight of all little brothers to try and keep up with their big brothers.
Peter was no different.
No matter how hard he tried, he always paled in comparison. When Peter tried to mirror some of his big brothers marvelous feats people only smiled politely, their attention quickly returning to his big brother.
Peter saw the humans sitting on their floating lightning rod. They were enthralled by the antics of his big brother and seemed to enjoy watching as lightning danced nervously across the dark sky. They even smiled at the deep booms that presaged the storm to come. Annoyed Peter tried harder to compete but only got a cursory glance from the people.
"We should call it Peter," the woman said. "Look how the thing has petered out."
Peter heard this and was enraged. No one had ever mocked his name before and as the resentment grew,so did he. Soon he found that he was surpassing his brother in size and still the people continued to gaze in admiration towards his brother. They awed over a single bolt of lightning far in the distance and ooo-ed over a weak grumble of thunder.
Enough. Peter had had enough. With a bright jolt of lightning and a crash of thunder just above their heads Peter voiced his opinion of these uncaring humans. He smiled smugly as they looked in his direction at last.
"Is it another cell?" the man asked.
"I think it is Peter," the woman replied.
"Naw, looks like the big storm has circled around," the man said.
Really? Peter thought. Really? Angered that he'd never get the recognition he deserved he let loose and enjoyed watching as the people scrambled below. He pelted their little boat and roared with delight when he realized that the man had played with a hatch cover leaving a gap that was allowing Peter into the confines of their small dry home. The man eventually succeeded in securing the hatch, but not before a garbage pail full of himself had invaded their domain.
With his rage spent Peter was content to follow his big brother past the marina and town to see what new wonders awaited him over the next rise.
UnChristmas
For Doug Christmas came in June. He has been feeling a bit better and we began to inventory the lockers, bins and cupboards. Each space held a treasure trove of wonders for him. He either oogled and awed or puzzled then aha'd. There was no tree, lights or wrapping but I think it was one of the best unchristmas ever.
Birds
King of Bunker Hill has given way to 'who can stay on the whirly gig'. Atop our mast is a 'thng' (by the end of summer I may know its name;) It spins and the birds appear to be taking turns to see how many times they can go around without flapping their wings or falling off. Wings out for balance appears to be acceptable, but if you flap, you fail.
Smokey
Smokey came to visit. Perhaps she could smell my coffee and knew that the 'new oddity' was up and just on the other side of the boat. She yowled until I went out to scratch her ears. She nonchalantly meandered to the edge of the doc and peered over to see if that other cat was still lurking just a few feet down. Luckily Smokey thought better of it and walked away from the edge. I was very pleased. A shower might sound good this morning, but I was not ready for an early morning swim.
Humans
It is Saturday, if Doug didn't tell tales out of school, but I believe it. The humans are about their play earlier than usual. With an audience the jogger was more intent on her run this morning as she ran to the end of the peer. She turned around and did the ew, ew, ew walk the McDonald bird did yesterday.
At first I was disappointed that she didn't look up to say hello, but then decided it was for the best. She would never understand the bemused look on my face as I was watching her do the 'ew" walk and waiting for her to dive face first into the peer and pull out a tasty bug.
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