Charlie was in an odd state tonight; most nights she will crash on the couch until everyone gets situated, then comes moseying down the hall to bulldoze her way onto the bed. Usually this is followed be a mighty sigh, and you know she's down for the count and you're safe(for now) from a  slimy face lathering. As I was preparing for sleep by destroying brain cells as a result of staring at a tiny…

It is with heavy heart that I bring you the following news: the end may be approaching for the inmates at the Casa del Whackos. We have been warned for years concerning this inevitably of this moment, but dad is not the best planner against an uncertain future, and ignored all the signs of impending disaster. He didn't heed the warnings of the 2018 snowpocalypse, and didn't stop for milk and bread on the way…

Dad here; peace reigns supreme in the predawn hours at the Casa, but such wasn't the case just minutes ago. Have you ever seen the movie "Alien", when the crab-like creature wraps itself around its victims face like a mask? Well, that's how Marco decides to wake me up every morning. After cuddling peacefully with mom all night, he wakes up with an overwhelming desire to launch himself onto my face, making my alarm clock…

Dad here: mom just fried up some maple-flavored crack cocaine, er, bacon, and brought a plate to the bedroom for me to sample. Of course, her approach down the hall was announced by a cacophony of dog hooves clattering on the faux wood flooring, produced by a posse of prancing pups hoping to relieve her of her burden before she ever makes it to her final destination. I find it odd that the smallest dog…

Dad's back in town after a quick overnight business trip to Memphis, mom's mom is gone back home to North Carolina, and we inmates once again reign supreme at the Casa del Whackos. As we leave the hectic "holiday" season in our mirrors and face the long trek across the wasteland of winter doldrums towards the promised land of spring, I was reminded of a moment last summer. Dad and I were crossing a long,…

Dad here; Davy Crockett was quoted as saying " I'm half-horse, half-alligator and a little attached with snapping turtle. I've got the fastest horse, the prettiest wife, the surest rifle and the ugliest dog in Texas. My father can lick any man in Kentucky... and I can lick my father. I can hug a bear too close for comfort and eat any man alive opposed to Andy Jackson." Well, although I don't ride a horse…

Mark Twain once said that house guests are like fish: after three days, they start stinking; I'm starting to feel the same way about these frigid temperatures that have set up housekeeping at the Casa del Whackos over the last few weeks. And before the crescendo of "well, if you think it's cold THERE!" starts building, don't bother; this is Arkansas. I admit it, we're weenies when it comes to the cold. We all lose…