If Clouds Could Talk

If Clouds Could Talk

A couple o' clouds are floatin' along in the sky, observin' the people down on the ground, and makin' comments on what they see. One says to the other; “Hey look at that guy over on the sidewalk. He's staggerin' around like a complete idiot!”

“Ah,” says the other cloud, “he's just a little drunk. Let's drift over by the kid's playground, they're usually a lot more fun to watch.”

Well, you're lookin' at me as though I've lost the last o' my marbles. Well maybe I did an' maybe I didn't. But don't tell me you believe humans are the only creatures with a sense of curiosity. Heck, I remember a gang of pelicans on the Red River up there by the locks that used to float down the stream watchin' people watchin' them. Then they'd fly up an' settle back into the water upstream a ways an' do the same thing all over again. They'd do that all day long between snacks from outa' the water. It got so that I'd be watchin' the people right along with the pelicans too.

As a matter of fact, many years ago I was reading a story about that famous battle at the Alamo where everybody was shootin' everybody else, when it occurred to me that the animals like coyotes, foxes, snakes an' such watchin' all the fuss goin' on must'a been scratchin' their heads at the idiocy of people shootin' away at one another an' not even botherin' to eat the carcasses.

The point is that I can remember layin' in the grass watchin' the clouds go by an wonderin' what I could see in them. I don't know why it never occurred to me before that they might be doin' the same thing back on me. Let's face it, they're up there in heaven an' who knows what goes on up there? The sky's a big place an' lots can happen there. You've heard o' golfers an' soccer players getting' struck by lightnin' durin' a game. An' them tornados comin' outa nowhere. That all comes out'a the clouds. So I just wouldn't sell them short neither. An' by the way, who's manouverin' them around up there anyways? Did you ever think o' that? No, no, the more I think about it, the scarier it gets.

I'm not sayin we should make more of clouds than what there is. I'm just pointin' out some o' the “what if's” that could be. You can do what you want but me – well the next time I'm lyin' in the grass or snow starin at the clouds thinkin' 'bout what or who they look like, I'll be watchin' a little more closely to look at their expressions. It they're lookin' a bit grouchy I'll be on my best behavior an' you can take that to the bank. Well you're never sure of what's goin' on so it's always best to go into the 'just in case' mode of behavior to be on the safe side in any sort of circumstance. You never know if the clouds are just doin' what clouds do or maybe are the policemen or the KGB of a higher power an' can report your activities whenever they see them. Lord knows, they see enough to fill a whole cookie jar full of tall tales. An' they can cover the whole world in no time at all so's you can just imagine all the things they come acrost.

Well at my age they ain't goin' to be seein' nothin' they hadn't ought to see so I guess it's all right for me to go lay in the snow an' watch them driftin' by, imaginin' what they look like. See, I don't think they know that I know what they're up to. At least that's how it seems to me from up here on the top shelf.

Just sayin'.