A Semester's Worth of Posts in Three Paragraphs

Well, I've managed not to blog for a whole semester. I've been busy writing my critical essay. I think it came out okay, though of course, I never really will be satisfied with it. Writing. You know how it is.

One thing I think I did succeed at very well this term is getting that annoying monkey off my back, the one gibbering in my ear about whether fantasy can be literature. And my conclusion after reading half a library's worth of essays and novels that either speak to or exemplify the topic, is that of course it can.

Once, a squirrel started hanging out on our back porch. At first, I thought he was adorable, the way he would taunt the cats through the screen door. I started putting out peanut butter for him and nuts and seeds. He became even friendlier. Eventually he started napping stretched out on the railing and if I would get crackers out of the cupboard, he'd move toward the door assuming that I was going to give him some. He got so brave in his pleas for snacks that he would come right to the screen door and stand inches from our biggest tom, who sat just inside the screen, his tail lashing madly back and forth. I began to fear the squirrel would dart inside when I opened the door. I imagined utter chaos erupting as he dashed inside and all five of our cats ran after him, upending furniture and knocking breakable items to the floor in their excitement. I tried to scare the squirrel away by yelling at him, but he would only take a few steps back and then edge closer again, his eyes on my box of Wheat Thins. Eventually, I threw a glass of water in his face, right through the screen. He didn't even flinch as the water whooshed over him. Of course not, I thought. Water is no threat to a squirrel.