My Very Own Gerbil Wheel

What is the attraction in having a pet gerbil? Just saying the word, gerbil, is fun and an entertaining inquiry as to how the rodent was discovered for the first time and thus declared to be a gerbil from that day forth forever more. I am sure the actual origin of the gerbil isn't as fun as it is probably a deriviative of its scientific name, Homo Gerbillus Sapien.* Perhaps it's one of those childhood rites of passage that one must go through in order to get to advance to the next level of "losing my innocence". One of the main objectives being to develop a sense of compassion in caring for another creature. I called in sick during that one as I had a gerbil, Abigail, and every time her cage needed to be cleaned, I'd watch her run around in the bath tub in partial disgust and gratitude that there was no way she could get out. There was a close call once, though.

Right, today's blog.... Rereading yesterday's hit, and the day before's and before's and before's, I've come to realize that I, too, proudly embody the American spirit by trying to keep up with all the thoughts that bombard me throughout the day and night. There is no possible way I can record, or coherently comment, on each and every one, and even if there was, I'd be living a 31 hour day with no time for sleep. That hurt, I thought I was so above all this nonsense. While my wheel is unique to any other wheel, just as each gerbil is authentically different from her neighbor, it's still a wheel, and we all got 'em. That's both a scary and comforting thought. Scary in that no one else can tell us when is the "right" time to get off the wheel and run in the wood chips, to eat or drink from the bottle, or even to sleep. Comforting that no one else actually knows the "right" time to do those things as there is no right or wrong. Enough of the gerbil analogy.

One Juliep Enthusiast generously thanked me for the roller coaster ride provided by my stream of consciousness. I couldn't have put it any better. Why is mine so intense and full of steep climbs, death defying drops, inverted turns that make a stomach turn, with only small snipets of level tracks?! Is the grass greeer on the other side, or are many other comfortable-looking roller coaster rides, in fact, just as intense? Perhaps with time and breath my tracks will become more calm and smooth, my passengers secretly hope so.

*There are 87 gerbil species, my favorites being, Gerbillus gleadowi,(Indian hairy-footed gerbil). Gerbillus pusillus (Least gerbil), and Gerbillus vivax (Vivacious gerbil).