They
say that
if you
want to
stay
ahead of
the
curve
you have
to
follow
the
folks
out in
California.
I’m not
certain
that
this is
always
true but
it is
interesting
to see
what
they
manage
to come
up with
from
time to
time. If
not to
imitate,
then
just to
talk
about
and
snicker
behind
their
backs…
The
latest
trend
announced
just
this
week is
a
service
for
people
who like
dogs and
cats but
don’t
want to
actually
own one.
So what
do you
think
they are
doing
over in
the
golden
state?
Renting
them.
That’s
right,
they
have
rental
services
for
people
who
don’t
want the
hassle
of
buying a
pet,
housetraining
them,
feeding
them,
taking
them to
the vet
and
having
them
around
24/7,
365 days
a year.
So they
rent out
cats and
dogs to
Californians
who want
to stop
by, pick
up an
animal
for a
few
hours
and then
turn
them in
later on
in the
day. No
fuss, no
muss, no
nothing…just
a few
hours of
love and
affection
and then
off you
go to
your
Pilates
or yoga
session
or
whatever.
I gotta
tell you
folks,
this is
weird.
First of
all,
I’ve had
dogs and
cats all
of my
life.
I’ve
never
had a
bad one
yet.
Well,
except
for one
demented
cat and
a couple
of super
hyper
dogs
which we
didn’t
keep
very
long.
All of
our
other
animals
have
brought
me
countless
hours of
joy and
love. I
can’t
imagine
life
without
a pet. I
cannot
see how
anyone
could
get
attached
to a
rent-a-pet.
I used
to ride
horses
at a
stable
in
Houston
when I
was a
kid. My
favorite
horse
was
named
Socks.
He
(she?)
cost
$3.00
for two
hours of
riding.
I liked
the
horse
but
never
really
felt as
if the
horse
was mine
or that
I had
any
strong
personal
attachment
to it.
It
wasn’t
like I
felt the
horse
was a
real
part of
my
family,
it was
just a
horse I
rented
when I
wanted
to go
riding.
Looks to
me as if
renting
a pet
would be
pretty
much the
same.
How can
you get
attached
to
something
that
isn’t
yours?
I
suppose
the next
step out
in La La
land is
to
rent-a-kid.
You
don’t
want the
responsibility
of
actually
having a
kid of
your
own.
Can’t
handle
the
costs or
the
obligation
to raise
it for
many
years,
so you
just
pick and
choose
one
you’d
like and
bingo,
there
you are.
Maybe
you need
one for
some
charity
event
and you
don’t
have any
relatives
near by
so you
call in
your
order.
You can
pick one
up from
the
checkout
center,
take him
or her
out for
a movie
or
dinner
and then
turn
them in
by
midnight
and pay
your
bill
with a
MasterCard
or Visa.
Simple
and
easy. No
need to
remember
birthdays
or
holidays…just
shop and
drop.
Now I
don’t
know if
they are
actually
renting
children
out
there as
of yet,
but I
wouldn’t
be a bit
surprised.
I do
know
they
have
rent-a-dummy
services
that
provide
you with
a blowup
model of
an adult
that can
be used
to sit
in the
front
seat of
your car
so you
can
drive on
the
contra
flow
lanes
and not
get a
ticket.
The
cheap
ones get
caught
all of
the
time. So
taking a
kid out
for a
few days
to show
off the
parental
side of
your
personality
certainly
would
not
surprise
me in
the
least.
What
never
ceases
to amaze
me about
this
part of
the
country
is the
how cold
and
removed
a lot of
the
citizens
seem to
be about
reality
and
relationships.
Now I
was born
in
California,
but
never
lived
there
and I’m
sure
there
are
plenty
of nice
people
out
there
just
like you
and me.
But,
they do
seem to
have an
overabundance
of kooks
and nuts
than the
rest of
the
nation.
I
suppose
we tend
to only
notice
only the
bad
things
about
people
and
places.
Maybe
I’m just
overreacting,
who
knows?
About
the only
thing
left to
rent in
California,
after
pets and
kids,
would be
wives.
But then
I think
Nevada
has the
lock on
that
service.
Then
again I
might be
wrong,
I’m
surprised
there
isn’t a
reality
show on
television
about
some
rent a
wife…..there
may be
and I
just
missed
it.
Check it
out and
let me
know. I
don’t
really
care to
look for
it
myself.
