Could Grunting Be A Better Language?

Mankind has been talking for hundreds of years, and all that time we've been at each other's throats.

It's so easy to say the wrong thing, to just blurt it out and not be able to take it back, then to accompany it with dismissive body language, we're naturally in trouble.

Could grunting be a better way to communicate? It usually gets its point across, and when it doesn't, it's ambiguous enough that no one knows your intentions so they're OK with it.

Grunting has served the animal world well. You hardly ever hear of any conflicts between animals. Of course they hunt prey, some are predators and some are prey. But that doesn't have anything to do with miscommunication problems. They're just hungry.

Both in effectiveness (even with ambiguity you can convey some powerful thoughts) and efficiency (if you can do pitches you've got the language down), grunting is a better language. Let me qualify that with a "perhaps" it is. Or just grunt, "uhhh," and let you figure it out.

Grunting has helped the animal world maintain their balance, their equilibrium. They haven't advanced like we have, but look at the advantages, they have that balance.

They sleep outside in the winter, I know. Which we don't want to do, but that's another topic.

UPDATE: An understanding student says, "It's not so much what he says, but how he says it."

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The idea for this posting was found in an old notebook in my desk.

Growing Old Together

I was watching one of my cats going down the stairs the other day, not quite as spry as she used to be. It looked like she was taking very deliberate, almost painful steps. There wasn't anything to indicate pain, but going so slowly it made it look like that to me.

The other cat, a couple years ago or 1½ years ago, was having a hard time climbing. I saw him trying to jump up on something (on their cat box) and he wasn't making it, or making it with difficulty.

But in a gradual recovery, he doesn't seem to have any trouble doing it now. So I don't know. Maybe he had a temporary problem back then.

Both the cats will be 15 in the middle of 2010.

The dog is officially 10 years old and a few months. But she doesn't appear to be slowing down any. But it's all just a matter of time.

Then there's me, us people. We're way older than them, but it's OK to be as old as we are and be human beings. We age Fahrenheit and they're Celsius, so we have lots of extra leeway.

It's interesting to age together. Any other pet, something happens to them. Hit by a car. Strangled somehow. Dies of worms. These three animals look like they're not going to pass on till old age tells them to.

Never Ending Pet Care

I can't imagine what happens when completely irresponsible people get pets. Their animals must really suffer. I hate everything about suffering animals and can't stand to watch it on TV, like on the Animal Planet channel.

They ought to rename Animal Planet the Sadist and Masochist Network, with all the dog surgery and abused animal shows they have. It's like animal porn and I can't stand to see it when it's on. "Is this the Food Network?" I'm seeing a lot of close-ups of red meat. Then they pull back. No, they're just bandaging up the back haunch of a dog.

Animal Planet is a very sickening channel.

Anyway, animal care is a thing full of responsibility. Meaning I need to forever be on top of the supply of food, cat litter, liner bags, etc. So I'm just about ready to head out to the store to pay the fee for animal companionship.