Sam and Dean Sock Puppets

Sock Puppet... if it had red/gray hair it would look like me...

The best thing about best friends is that they are in synch with you and know *exactly* what you feel/do even if you are miles and mountains apart.  Email from Melissa (Ms. Ball) this morning~ she has been reading my blog and is right in step with me feeling/experience wise... even talks to people in her head like I do.  Her people are Sam-n-Dean from Supernatural, the dynamic demon-slaying brothers.... mine is more like a sock-puppet version of myself.  Sometimes with angel horns or devil halo, but usually just another version of me.  

I suspect that most people do this, not admit to it, but have these conversations with themselves that are combinations of pep-talks, scoldings, sarcastic quips, reminders, problems solving or just thinking personas.  Thing is, sometimes (well, ok- often) I catch myself talking out loud- usually in the car by myself, or just an occasional blurted sentence in the shower  (what do I say?  Usually something like "You really got to get this done" or "Not bad for almost 50" or "I am so f'ing hungry/tired/thirsty").  Sometimes I catch myself talking in the grocery store ("What? You're kidding me. $5.00 a gallon for milk? No way.") or at school ("Ok, remember to do this, and oh my would you look-at-that!").  Is it crazy space talk or just a bubble of expression?  Or both?  Are all those people talking on their cell phones *really* talking on their cell phones or are they having self-conversations?   My solution?  I'm just going to start carrying around a sock puppet- then people will assume that I am either: crazy, practicing something, doing some sort of hidden-camera-show... and they will either avoid me or give me pocket change.  

Seriously though, Mr. Owens puts up with it as I do it quite a bit around the house... and the kids at school put up with it because in a class of 30+ they all safely assume that I am talking to *someone*, and Grendel grew up with it and thinks it is just what Mums do.  The dogs think I'm talking to them, and look around for treats, the cat ignores me unless *he* wants something (belly-rub, pouncy treats, blanket or one of his other demands).  Still, I'm talking (and sometimes singing made-up songs or poetry) and that is not likely to change anytime soon.  Unbridled creativity frothing at the mouth.

With our new smart phones (which we still haven't tamed- they mysteriously turn themselves off and on, and I can NEVER hear my ring/text tones no matter which one I try....and it plays Angry Birds by itself) the one trick I have discovered is the lovely application called memo.  I can open it up, press the listen button, start talking and *pow* my words are text.  And it is fairly accurate, so it is a good way to capture important thoughts, especially when driving.  Much safer than the pen/notebook I used to keep to scribble down things.

I just need to remember to look at all these brilliant ideas and put them to use.  Maybe my sock puppet will remind me.