Assorted

A gattara is an elderly woman who takes care of cats.

Who knew—my career choice has a name!
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I’ve long had a roller coaster, off-leash and kind of a Fauvist approach to life. Think Matisse on microdot and crack under a late March full moon. It's been fun. Colorful too.
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Are memoirs just autobiographies with off topic rambling? Do personal blogs (like this one), constitute autobiography? Let’s ask the experts.

A memoir is a nonfiction narrative in which the author shares their memories from a specific time period or reflects upon a string of themed occurrences throughout their life. An autobiography is a factual and historical account of one's entire life from beginning to end. (source)

So, I’m a memoirist like Joan Didion (only not as deep and depressing) or Augusten Burroughs (but not as witty or incisive) or a much less talented Mary Karr.  Plus I throw the odd essay or word obsession into the mix.
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Diane Smith (name changed to protect the potentially fragile)  was a girl with whom I attended high school. Way back then she was beautiful, sparkly and came off as awfully sweet. Years after high school’s horrors, I heard that (shortly after we graduated), she had a ‘nervous breakdown’ (whatever that meant). According to the gossiper, Diane was living at home with her mother and rarely left her bedroom. How did the gossiper know this? She hadn’t been friends with Diane either.

I recall feeling sad for Diane, wishing there was something I could do to ease her pain but I never actually knew her. She was just a person I saw in the halls who, from the outside, seemed nice, happy and friendly—someone I would want to know but didn't.

I’d love to find out:

1. Is the gossiper's story true or was this her bitter wish? (Gossip Girl was sour and sad over not having been one of the golden, popular high school girls)
   
2. Did Diane survive whatever this supposed ‘nervous breakdown’ was?
3. Did she get help?
4. Did she ever break on through to the other side?
   
5. If she didn’t, where is she now? Alive? If so, who’s taking care of her? Presumably her mother has moved on to whatever follows this life.

An aside: What, if anything, does follow life on Earth?’

• Permanent dirt naps all around?
• Heaven/Hell/Purgatory?
• We become ghosts and then haunt the assholes who made our earth-time painful? I got a long list of deserving shitheelian wonders all composed. (Yes, I’m a gifted grudge holder)
• Reincarnation? I’m coming back as a giant squid—squid don’t have to go to high school, right?

I’m imagining Diane at 15, full of life and potential, and what she may look or be like now at 65.

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Gul
     noun
a large octagonal design derived from the shape of a rose, a motif on rugs.

Nice but no. This is what the cons and grifters (AKA the Republi/Fascists) do to their rube followers.

Rube
     noun
 : an awkward unsophisticated person : rustic. : a naive or inexperienced person.

You know, an easily fleeced idiot. Synonym? MAGAt

Rube showed up around the turn of the 19th century as a slur for a gullible country boy. Its origin is similar to that of hick. Both are diminutive forms of names that were associated with country folk at the time: Rube for Reuben, Hick for Richard. (source)

Emmm, happy Sunday!