out of whole cloth

Jorge Alberto art

As if to confirm my long-standing presumptuousness, two or three squirrels skittered and rucketed through the Japanese maple across the street in these early morning hours today. And yes, they did hang upside down in a quest for the sweetest shoots at the far end of spindly branches. I feel somehow confirmed: This is indeed The Tree of the Upside Down Squirrels and I am not just blowing self-absorbed smoke in my imaginative naming.

It is a relief from time to time to check out settled assumptions and find that, while not perfectly assured, still those assumptions hold some water.

Also crossing my bow this morning is the word "trice," as in, "in a trice."

"Trice" -- in no time flat. It's not a term that wins any popularity contests, but, as with The Tree of the Hanging Squirrels, there is something soothing and confirming about its existence. Even if no one uses it, still I am not entirely crazy.

Sometimes I wish I wouldn't think about such things, and that, instead, I would just assume that because "everyone says so," there is no need to consider and munch. How much more cozy-fying. If we agree, then it is true.

Last night, on public television, there was a segment about an agency that collects and collates data that might have something to do with "terrorism." Tracking would-be terrorists, would-be terror cells. The segment was full of pictures of sophisticated computer screens and talking heads explaining how and what was being analyzed in an effort to sidetrack future attacks on an imagined safety. But there was not one word -- not a single word -- to indicate anyone was studying the roots and ramifications of what is blithely called "terrorism." Everyone knows that "terrorism" scares the pee down your leg; no need for further definition .... especially when the job pays so well. Well, if this ain't terrorism, I don't know what is.

Kind of reminds me of things made "out of whole cloth."