Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts

By Alyce Wilson

Copyright 2007, Fox Broadcasting

Why, many American Idol fans are asking this morning, did Chris Sligh, who was considered a dark horse candidate for the finals, go home last night while a much weaker contestant, Sanjaya Malakar, stuck around?

Two words: fan base.

Chris Sligh has a great personality and a terrific sense of humor, but for the past couple of weeks he's had a problem with consistency. More than anything else, he's had a chronic problem with tempo, and his performance last night simply fell apart.

While other contestants, like Phil and Gina, are growing and showing their potential, he has, if anything, gotten worse. So the small group of dedicated fans who want to see him succeed might not have shrunk, but they haven't grown either. The so-called Fro Patro didn't make nearly enough noise to guarantee his safety on a rough week.

Sanjaya, on the other hand, apparently has a very dedicated voting block of teenyboppers who think he's cute. I've also heard that radio shock jock Howard Stern has been urging his listeners to vote for him, so much like Bucky Covington before him or any number of also-rans, he's seeing success far beyond what his talent would merit.

But the fact that the studio audience didn't seem that surprised to see Chris in the bottom two means his run was destined to be over. I'd advise him, before the summer tour, to work on his pacing, which I think cost him the competition.

Just when I thought I could put my sweaters away, this morning is so cold I wish I was wearing my wool scarf. Just another unpredictable spring day, I guess. Although we've had a couple of really warm days where I didn't even need to wear a jacket. We even had a day or two when I opened the windows. Our kitty, Luke, enjoyed sitting in them and smelling outdoor smells, listening to birds.

Una got some bad news this week about some dogs we see frequently. One was a big dog named Angel, a white mix who lived down the street. She used to be calm and friendly, but her failing health has altered her personality, and the last time she said hi to Una, she barked and nipped at her.

Her owner told me that she's going to have to put her to sleep soon, because her problems keep getting worse.

Later this week, we learned that the quirky little Chihuahua mix named Zoe that Una used to lick and sniff through her backyard fence has a new owner. She is a nervous, high-strung dog who peed all over the house. Worse than that, she bullied the much older family Dachshund, Oscar.

When he developed back problems recently, she made them worse by jumping on his back and biting his leg. That was the last straw, and they took her to the ASPCA. But they kept tabs on her, and when it looked like she wasn't going to be adopted, they were going to take her back. Then, a woman saw Zoe's picture on the Internet, fell in love and adopted her. So far, the ASPCA says the dog is doing fine in her new home.

Una will miss her, but it seems like it's for the best.

I've had some strange dreams lately. In one, I kept finding dead mice in the kitchen. I wasn't sure if they were dying of disease or Luke was killing them. One was really squished, which doesn't seem like natural causes. I kept collecting them and leaving them in the trash, which was very disturbing.

Last night I had a very different dream. At first my mom and then my sister was planning a big wedding in Mom's back yard. You would never do this for multiple reasons. First of all, there's no large open area to seat guest, because she has too many gardens and trees, not to mention a large fenced in area for her dogs. Plus, it's more like a hill than a yard, and you could never safely set up chairs.

My sister was in the middle of her plans and was angry at me because of something I'd told Mom about a problem my sister had with her dress. She said she was upset that I'd made her look ridiculous, and she said she didn't like it when I told stories about her that weren't flattering. I apologized, but I couldn't think of what I'd said that would have upset her so much.

Meanwhile, the yard was suddenly full of all sorts of people, dressed up in summer finery, for another wedding. The bride and groom were apparently Muslim. I've never attended a Muslim wedding, so I have no idea how they dress, but in my dream they were both wearing floor-length white robes with eyelet lace accents. It sounds completely ridiculous, but in the dream it looked normal to me.

Near the end of the ceremony, Mom, my sister and I, who had been observing from the sidelines, tried to go inside my mom's house. The wedding attendees were chanting a prayer as we opened the door.

My mom has two very spirited dogs, Murray (Una's brother) and Sunnie, who have been known to push past people and run free throughout the neighborhood. So naturally, as we opened the door, a dog dashed out. She hadn't gone very far, and when I said, "Stop," she stopped, so I grabbed her and muscled her inside.

That's when I realized she wasn't my mom's dog, Sunnie, but a new dog I'd never seen before. She was a mix who must have weighed about 50 to 60 pounds. Her coloring was a muted reddish brown, and she had a very curious tuft of curly hair on top of her head, sort of like a poodle.

I asked my mom what the dog's name was, as I was petting her. Mom told me her name was Spoon. My mom's come up with some interesting animal names, but that's a new one.

Through the glass doors, we watched the ceremony outside, relieved that we'd captured the dog so soon. "Wouldn't it be horrible," I said, "if they thought we'd released the dogs on purpose to ruin their ceremony, right in the middle of a prayer?"

So a dream that started out with some sort of anxiety about wedding planning problems ended with the realization that even potential disasters can be averted with quick thinking and a sense of humor.

In some sense, it's a low level anxiety dream. Even though it wasn't me having the problem, I've learned that any dream that features my sister might as well be about me. She often stands in as a cipher for my emotions, partly because we're so close but also because, I imagine, she looks a little like me.

Actually, so far the wedding planning has been going pretty well. I think I'll have to remember, though, to listen to the lessons of this dream and keep my sense of humor.

More on American Idol:

Musings on American Idol Season 6 (2007)

Musings on American Idol Season 5 (2006)

Musings on American Idol Season 4 (2005)

Musings on American Idol Season 3 (2004)

Copyright 2006 by Alyce Wilson

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