Things I Trust More Than This Administration: A Field Guide to Funk, Foolishness, and Feral Cats

“If it smells bad, at least it’s not pretending to be leadership.”

-This Puzzled Life

The Light the charcoal. Sprinkle the sage. Let the ancestors pinch their noses and look away. Today we’re diving deeper into the olfactory underworld. We are not merely discussing stink. We are invoking it. We are calling forth the foul, the funky, the spiritually disrespectful aromas that have shaped us. Traumatized us. And strengthened our immune systems. 

This is not a blog post. This is a ritual of olfactory truth‑telling. The realm of smells so violent, spiritually disrespectful, and chemically aggressive that OSHA would need a prayer circle. And yet. I trust every single one of them more than the current administration.

Piper has already climbed onto the counter like a tiny, judgmental priestess. While waving her paw through the sage smoke like she’s blessing the space. Tinkerbell is pacing the hallway like she’s preparing to testify before Congress. Coco is sitting in the corner with her eyes half‑closed, whispering, “Mother, the air is lying to us.” And She’s right.

When the world is full of institutional nonsense. Bureaucratic gaslighting. And leadership that smells like a compost bin in August. Sometimes the only thing you can trust is the honest, unfiltered, unapologetic funk of everyday life. So, gather your courage. Gather your nose plugs. Gather your cats if they’re willing. We’re going in. Here is a list of stinky things I trust more than the current administration.

1. The Diaper With a Personal Vendetta

This diaper is not merely stinky. This diaper is sentient. It has a backstory. It has unresolved conflict. It has seen the rise and fall of civilizations. And is now wandering the earth like a cursed relic. It smells like betrayal, hot milk, and generational trauma.

Piper: “Momma, that diaper has a stronger moral compass than the entire federal budget.”

2. The Litter Box Couple in a Toxic Relationship

These two litter boxes have been together for years. They fight. They reconcile. They break up. They get back together. They smell like resentment and clumping clay. One is passive-aggressive. The other is emotionally unavailable. Together, they are the most stable relationship in the house.

Tinkerbell: “At least they own their mess. Can the administration say the same?”

3. The Onion That Has Gone Full Demon Mode

This onion has sprouted tentacles. It has opinions. It has a five‑year plan and a side hustle. It smells like a root vegetable that has lost its faith. You don’t throw this onion away. You negotiate with it.

Coco: “That onion has transparency. I respect that.”

4. The Gym Sock That Has Survived Three Regimes

This sock is crunchy. This sock is haunted. This sock has been to war metaphorically and possibly literally. It smells like despair, ambition, and a middle school locker room.

Piper: “That sock has done more for this country than the administration.”

5. The Trash Can You Forgot During a Heat Wave

This trash can smells like sin. It smells like regret. It smells like a decision you made at 2 a.m. that still haunts you. It has its own gravitational pull.

Tinkerbell: “At least the trash knows it’s trash. And doesn’t require a newly purchased jet to function.”

6. The Forgotten Tupperware in the Back of the Fridge

You know the one. You don’t open it. You don’t touch it. You don’t even look directly at it. It contains a life form that has achieved consciousness and is now applying for citizenship.

Coco: “That Tupperware has accountability. Revolutionary.”

7. The Muddy Boot That Never Fully Dries

This boot smells like mildew, swamp secrets, and the ghost of a crawfish boil. It has been through things. It has trauma. It has character development.

Piper: “That boot would never gaslight me.”

8. The Sponge You Should Have Thrown Away in 2019

This sponge is a biohazard. It is a microbial theme park. It smells like a wet gremlin. And yet? It is more reliable than any press briefing.

Tinkerbell: “That sponge has more structural integrity.”

9. The Bag of Salad That Turned Into Swamp Water Overnight

You bought it with good intentions. You blinked. It liquefied. It smells like a bog witch’s armpit.

Coco: “That salad at least tried to do something productive.”

And so, after reviewing diapers with emotional baggage  and a vendetta. Litter boxes in codependent chaos  and in couples therapy. Onions with career goals. Haunted gym socks with PTSD. A liquefied bag of salad. And Tupperware that has achieved full spiritual ascension. One truth stands firm. We have toured the underworld of stink. The swamp of scents. The olfactory apocalypse itself. And the current administration? Give me the stink. Give me the chaos. Give me the onion with a five‑year plan. At least they don’t gaslight me.

There are many things in this world that stink. And after all that? I trust every single one of these foul, unholy, nose‑curling abominations more than I trust the current administration. Because at least the stink is honest.

At least the stink warns you before it ruins your day. At least the stink doesn’t pretend to be anything other than what it is. At least the stink owns its chaos instead of filing it under “pending review.” The administration? They’ll hand you a burning dumpster and call it “innovation.”

Piper is lighting sage like she’s trying to smoke out a demon. Tinkerbell is drafting a bill titled “The National Odor Accountability Act.” And Coco is in the corner is filing a FOIA request with a clipboard whispering, “We need oversight. We need structure. We need a nose‑based justice system.” As for me? I’m opening a window and letting the truth air out. And my spirit guides begging me to stop reading the news before bed.

Let the record show itself carved into stone. Embroidered on a pillow. Tattooed on the lower back of democracy itself. I trust the stink. I believe the stink. I stand with the stink. And until the administration can match the moral clarity of a trash can in a heat wave? I’ll be over here with my cats, my sage, and my nose plugs. And I’ll be choosing the truth. Choosing the chaos. And choosing the funk. Thanks for reading! And watch this stinky administration cause chaos and ruin our democracy.

Affirmation: I release all illusions, delusions, and government issued nonsense.

***Don’t forget to watch the video!***

#ThisPuzzledLife

The Bitchuation Room: Not Flushing Public Toilets

“I didn’t wake up to choose violence. But my spirit, my schedule, and my digestive system clearly held a secret meeting without me.”

-This Puzzled Life

Light the charcoal. Sprinkle the sage. Today, I need spiritual reinforcement. I need divine intervention. I need the ancestors, the angels, and maybe even a hazmat team. Why? Because I have once again encountered the most baffling, lawless, civilization‑ending behavior known to humankind. And it’s the people who do not flush public toilets.

I’m not talking about toddlers. I’m not talking about someone in the middle of a plumbing emergency. I’m talking about full‑grown adults with jobs, vehicles, and voting rights walking away from a toilet like they’re leaving the scene of a crime. And I’m tired.

Clearly we need to cleanse this house, this neighborhood, and possibly the entire Deep South of the spiritual funk caused by grown adults who refuse to flush the commode. I’m not naming names, but if the shoe fits, it probably smells like the inside of a Dollar General bathroom after a power outage. The cats have convened an emergency meeting of the Feline Administration for Sanitation & Southern Decency. And let me tell you, they are fed up also.

Let me tell you something. Walking into a public bathroom in the South is like spinning a roulette wheel of trauma. You might get lucky and find a clean stall. Or you might open a door and see something that makes you reevaluate your entire relationship with humanity. I’ve walked into gas station bathrooms that smelled like someone tried to boil crawfish in holy water. I’ve walked into Walmart bathrooms where the lights flickered like the building was trying to warn me. I’ve walked into Dollar General bathrooms where the toilet seat was wet, and I didn’t ask a single question because I value my sanity. But the worst. The absolute worst is when someone leaves the toilet unflushed like it’s a public art installation titled “Chaos in Porcelain.”

I have questions. Deep, philosophical questions. Are people scared of the handle? Do they think the toilet is self‑cleaning? Are they performing a social experiment? Were they raised in a barn? Do they believe flushing is optional, like adding guac at Chipotle? I swear, some of these toilets look like someone tried to summon a demon and then got distracted.

Let me be clear. I have a list. A personal, emotional, spiritual list.

1. The gas‑station bathroom off Highway 49

The toilet was bubbling. I don’t know what was happening, but I left before it gained consciousness.

Piper’s Report: “I opened the door and immediately felt the presence of something unholy. The toilet was bubbling like it was trying to communicate. I will not be returning.” She has since saged her whiskers. The toilet made a noise that sounded like it was speaking in tongues.

2. The Walmart bathroom with the flickering lights

I opened the door and immediately felt like I was in a horror movie. I’m not auditioning to be the first one taken out. Absolutely not.

Tinkerbell’s Report: “I stepped inside and the lights flickered like a horror movie. I’m a cat, not a final girl. Absolutely not.” She then crossed herself even though she’s not religious. 

Reason for Blacklisting: The stall door creaked open on its own. No one was inside. We left Immediately.

3. The Dollar General bathroom

If you know, you know. If you don’t know, keep it that way. Protect your peace.

Coco’s Report: “I don’t know what happened in there, but it smelled like someone tried to microwave a swamp. I’m not emotionally equipped for that.” She refused to make eye contact for the rest of the day.

Reason for Blacklisting: The toilet seat was wet. From what? We don’t ask questions in this house.

4. The Target bathroom with the graffiti warning

When a wall says, “Don’t look in the third stall,” that’s not a suggestion. That’s a prophecy. And I ignored it. And I regret it. 

Tinkerbell’s Report: “The wall said, ‘Don’t look in the third stall.’ So naturally, I looked. I regret everything.” She has not spoken of what she saw.

Reason for Blacklisting: The third stall. That’s all we’re legally allowed to say.

5. The Buc‑ee’s bathroom that was suspiciously clean

Too clean. Uncomfortably clean. Like “someone is watching” clean. 

Piper’s Report: “It was suspicious. No bathroom should sparkle like that. It felt like a trap.” She sniffed every corner like a bomb‑sniffing dog.

Reason for Blacklisting: Cleanliness so intense it felt like surveillance.

6. The Mall Bathroom With the Unflushed Situation

Coco’s Report: “I walked in, saw the unflushed disaster, and immediately filed a complaint with the universe. I’m still recovering.” She wrote his trauma memoir in crushed Goldfish cracker powder.

Reason for Blacklisting: The toilet bowl looked like a Jackson Pollock painting of regret.

7. The Park Bathroom With No Door

Tinkerbell’s Report: “I am a lady. I require privacy. I will not be conducting my business in an open‑air amphitheater.” She left with her dignity intact.

Reason for Blacklisting: No door. No lock. No hope.

I’m not asking for much. I’m not asking for aromatherapy diffusers or marble countertops or a choir of angels singing while I pee. I’m asking for one flush. One. Single. Flush. If you sprinkle, tinkle, plop, drop, splash, crash, or otherwise contribute anything to that toilet, flush it. It costs nothing. It takes one second. And it prevents trauma. May your public bathrooms be clean, your stalls be empty, and may you never again open a door and see something that requires therapy.

And so, as we gather our belongings, our dignity, and whatever spiritual protection we have left, let us remember this simple truth that  Public bathrooms don’t have to be war zones. They don’t have to be escape rooms. They don’t have to be archaeological digs where you discover what the last person ate in 2007. All they require is for people to flush the commode like they were raised by humans and not released into the wild by accident.

Piper has spoken. Coco has unionized. Tinkerbell has filed a formal complaint with the ancestors. And together, they leave you with this final Southern blessing. “May your stalls be clean, your floors be dry, and may you never again encounter a toilet that looks like it needs a wellness check.” Amen, Ashe, and flush it.

If a bathroom requires courage, prayer, or a tetanus shot, the cats are out. If the toilet is unflushed, they’re out. If the air feels thick enough to chew, they’re out. And honestly? Same.

THE PUBLIC BATHROOM SURVIVAL GUIDE:

As mandated by the Feline Administration for Sanitation & Southern Decency

1. ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK

Public bathrooms are not “restrooms.” They are escape rooms with plumbing. If you walk in and immediately smell something that makes your eyelashes curl backward, congratulations you’ve entered Level 1. Piper calls this “The Warm Welcome.” She says if the air feels chewy, turn around.

2. THE FLUSHING CRISIS: A NATIONAL EMERGENCY

Let’s address the porcelain elephant in the room. Why are people not flushing? Is it rebellion? Is it laziness? Is it generational trauma? Is it a cry for help? Tinkerbell says it’s a lack of home training. Coco says it’s a lack of supervision. Piper says it’s a lack of Jesus. I say it’s all three.

3. THE CATS’ OFFICIAL OBSERVATIONS

PIPER (Baby Chaos, Bathroom Anthropologist):

“Some of these toilets look like someone tried to summon a demon and then got scared halfway through. Flush it. I’m too young for this.” She now carries emotional support treats.

COCO (Snack Lobbyist & Public Restroom Union Rep):

“I’ve seen gas‑station toilets that looked like they needed a wellness check. If I can cover my business in a litter box and still be decent enough to bury it, humans can push a handle.” She then filed a petition written in crushed Goldfish cracker powder, because he believes in snack‑based activism.

TINKERBELL (Dignity Enforcement Officer):

“I walked into a Walmart bathroom and saw something that made me reconsider reincarnation. I will not be returning.” She has since created a personal Do‑Not‑Enter list that includes any bathroom with flickering lights, any bathroom with a wet floor for “mysterious reasons,” any bathroom where the toilet seat is up AND the stall door is unlocked, and any bathroom with graffiti that says, “Don’t look in the third stall.”

4. THE RULES OF SURVIVAL

Rule #1: If you make it, you flush it.

This is kindergarten-level stuff. If you can operate a smartphone, you can operate a toilet.

Rule #2: If the toilet looks like it’s fighting for its life, choose another stall.

Do not be a hero. This is not your battle.

Rule #3: If the floor is wet, assume the worst.

Do not investigate. Do not sniff. Do not ask questions. Just hover like your mama taught you.

Rule #4: Never trust a gas‑station bathroom after 10 p.m.

Coco calls this “The Witching Hour.”

Rule #5: If the hand dryer sounds like a jet engine, it’s lying.

It will not dry your hands. It will only blow your sins back at you.

Today we not only cleansed the house. We cleansed society. Specifically, the part of society that walks into a public bathroom, commits a biological felony, and then strolls out like they’re headed to a church potluck. I’m convinced some people think public toilets are interactive art installations. Or maybe they believe the commode is a museum exhibit titled The Human Condition.”

So, let’s be honest. If you wouldn’t leave your own toilet looking like that, why are you doing it in public? This is not a scavenger hunt. This is not a science experiment. This is not a performance art piece titled Chaos in Porcelain.” It’s a toilet. Flush it. We’ve cleansed the energy of every gas station, Walmart, Buc‑ee’s, and Dollar General bathroom from here to the Gulf Coast. The cats say it’s a public health crisis. I say it’s a moral failing. Together, we say, “FLUSH THE DAMN COMMODE!” Thanks for reading! And beware of unflushed toilets.

Affirmation: I honor my chaos, laugh at my disasters, and rise today knowing that even when life goes sideways, I still show up shining, hydrated, and unbothered.

***Don’t forget to watch the video!***

#Thispuzzledlife