The day for which I have been saving for years finally arrived. It was time to let go of the Giant Furball.
Of course I don’t mean Barney. What do you think I am?
No – it’s this thing. I took this right before I let go of it.
This is how it looked in 2016.
And here is its replacement, born anew the other day.
I’ve been saving up, with the Ozark Ball Museum in mind, each and every day after brushing the boys.
The Museum was founded by Kelly Mulhollan, one of the most wonderfully creative people imaginable. Kelly is a talented birder and string-player and song-writer and, together with his equally creative and brilliant wife Donna, the two perform their original brand of “new” folk music as the duo Still on the Hill.
Here they are, at home in the Ball Museum. Just look at that smile on Kelly. That’s Kelly being Kelly. He and Donna are irrepressible and irreplaceable and greatly loved in this community. Do visit their website. This picture does not do them justice.
Well, I can’t resist. Here’s a pro photo from their website. This way you get to see Donna being Donna. Do please check them out yourself. You can give a listen there and even become their patron.
Kelly and Donna used to be my neighbors, but you don’t have to be neighbors to know about the Ball Museum. It’s been written up in the papers. And now here on the blog, of course, so its fame is increasing exponentially. Thanks to that well-deserved fame, Kelly tells me, people actually call up and want to know Museum hours!
Pictures can’t really do justice to the collection, but here are a few to give you an idea.
Here is Our Ball, ensconced in its new home. I’m happy to think of us in such good company. I especially like that fluffy white one on the right there. That was contributed by a mutual friend’s dog.
Here’s a ball and chain from Alcatraz, dangling along the side of display case. It’s even labelled “Alcatraz” on its side.
I like this next category. The Saturday Night Fever Corner.
That picture of the blue one there? That was a pretty one Donna and Kelly picked up for the Museum. Until they heard a news report of how that pretty blue thing might be part of a cluster bomb that, if they dropped it, could blow them to kingdom come. The authorities had to dispose of that one.
There’s an interesting story behind this next one. Well, there’s an interesting story behind each and every ball, but this one kind of takes the cake.
This is an old propane tank. It still had some gas left in it when Kelly got it, together with the odorific additive ethyl mercaptan. When Kelly drained the tank, the entire neighborhood filled with that gas smell. The fire trucks screeched up in short order (authorities arriving again). The smell took weeks to dissipate and to get rid of it, Kelly had to cover the yard with another layer of dirt! Worth the trouble, I’d say.
The Ozark Ball Museum. Why we live here.
Before, I never could understand the appeal of surprise parties. That was probably because I had never had one thrown for me nor had I ever attended one. I hear some people don’t like being caught off guard like that. Not me. I found it incredibly hilarious and touching that these crazy wonderful people had been plotting this event for weeks, even in my presence, and they were so slick about it I never had the slightest inkling.
By the way, that’d be each and every day. Keep in mind that Bugs is a short-haired cat. I get nothing like this from long-haired Barney. I’m having trouble keeping up.
Change of position, to commence fixing the remaining furs. Note the growing hairball in the foreground. It was this size a month ago:
The only possible response:
Mr. Frog’s response was to flatten himself down into a micron-thin puddle. I’ve never seen such a flattened frog.
When I came out, both Bugs and Barney had come to their feet and were staring at me with utter alarm on their little faces.
catself 
