saving FAITH!!

I had a mishap with MB's and her father's dog Saturday. She always expects a treat when she goes out and defecates and urinates and then comes back in. Usually the treat is a hotdog, but my father-in-law is in the hospital and has been for over 2 weeks. So the only thing in the 'fridge was a baked potato rapped in aluminum foil.

So I threw it down to Faith, (she is 1/2 border collie and 1/2 English sheepdog, if I find a picture, I will add it to the post), I assumed that she was smart enough NOT to eat the aluminum foil. The amount of aluminum foil was more than enough to cover 2 of your hands. The damn thing landed face down and the aluminum foil was face up. So the dog swooped in and put it in her mouth. I tried to pry her jaws open to drop it and she tried biting me. (I was smart enough not to put my hands near her teeth and pull it out). But damnit, despite the effort, she swallowed it all. The aluminum was enough to cover both of your hands.

So, I drove home, got the kids, they were asking 100 questions about the dog and worrying about her. I just knew that she wouldn't survive with that amount of aluminum foil in her; she's only about 65 pounds. I got some Syrup of Ipeyac which is something you give your kids if they swallow a poison. But the problem was as Ted told me, the Syrup was 10 years old. So we went to the drugstore and they didn't have any! But they gave me some advice. There was an ER nurse that gave me advice, which really, really helped.

One person said get some water, put as much salt in it, as much as the water could carry, then the ER nurse said mix mustard with water and that would make her vomit the aluminum foil out. So I figured, "I know what I'll do, I'll mix mustard and a ton of salt together in the warm water."

So, we got Faith outside b/c we didn't want her vomiting in the house. I sat on her, holding her mouth open and my son poured the mustard-salt-warm water concoction down her throat. In a few minutes, she vomited up 1/2 of the aluminum foil. I was still worried about her. She still had 2" by 3" of aluminum foil in her. Reluctantly, Andy & I pinned her down again and poured the concoction down her throat again. Unfortunately, no aluminum foil came up. So we quit.

I told MB about it (expecting to get screamed at), but she handled it very well. She said the best thing to do is watch her very closely, and she was confident the aluminum foil would work through her. I was still worried about a bowel obstruction. But in 2 days she seems to be fine.

Why didn't we take her to a vet? We thought about that, but we really have no money for that. I felt really bad about it, because I like the dog and didn't want to hurt my in laws and MB's dog! It seems like we saved her by getting her to at least vomit out 1/2 of it.

This blog's 1st movie review: Shine a Light

If movies get 5 stars for being a classic and 0 stars for a movie so bad that it was as bad as if they showed Billy shitting his pants and putting out on You Tube, well then I give Shine a Light 3 & a 1/2 stars.

Bad: The first 20-30 minutes aren't worth a damn. There's nothing more boring than hearing a director (Martin Scorsese) and his assistant bitch about the same thing over and over again. In this case, they want Mick Jaggar to give them a conceptualization of how they will set the stage up for the concert, and they want a set list. As Scorsese explains, he needs to have the set list (especially for 1st song) so that if the song starts with a guitar riff, he'll cue the dude that's videotaping Ron Wood or Keith. If it starts with Mick singing, he'll cue that cameraman. But I don't give a fiddler's fuck, about the dispute between the Stones and Scorsese. With a little imagination, they could have made the beginning of this movie a whole lot better! Also, the concert footage was very good, but why the hell didn't they have them singing "Shine a Light"?? Maybe that's in the bonus cuts. I haven't seen that yet. Hopefully, you wont hold that against me.

The movie gets a little bit better when they show President Bill Clinton meet the Stones. Then the Stones have to change their schedule around to meet Hillary Clinton's mother. They greet Bill and the mother warmly although the movie doesn't show them greeting Hillary. They point out in the movie that the Stones change their schedule to meet Hillary's mother, and Hillary thanks them effusively for that. Bill goes out and introduces the Rolling Stones, and then the movie gets 12 times better!

They show the footage of the concert in New York not at an arena but a place that can hold 100s of people (The Beacon). The concert is highlighted by the guest stars. Buddy Guy singing "Champagne and Reefer" with the band, Jack White singing with them "Lovin Cup", and Christine Aguilera singing "Live w/ Me". My 7 year old daughter was outstanding company watching the movie with me, and she made me replay Jack White and the Stones doing "Lovin' Cup". I was sooooo proud of her!

Another thing that made the movie excellent was that they had cuts of the band when they were 40 yrs, 30 yrs younger. The interviews were very inciteful and illuminating. At one point, Mick is asked by the interviewer, "Can you see playing with the Stones when your 60s, Mick?" "Oh yeah, easily", Mick replies. Good choice, Mick.

I strongly recommend seeing the movie. Just skip the 1st 20 minutes of it.

Correction

When I heard the news, I was just thinking about deleting the last post and not saying anything. However, that's not being very open. I sent the outrageous picture shown yesterday to some of my co-workers. One of my co-workers went to the website that was shown on that awful sign. He found out from the website that you are able to put any message on that board that you want. So, actually someone wrote that message as a joke/gag, and then sent it to someone else. Then, one of the members in my support group saw it and took it seriously which is what I did, too.

So basically you could go to that same website and type in something nice instead like, "R2 loves Amel" and it would show up on that "cyberbillboard" with that Baptist Church in the background.
So, this blog has posted its first correction, sorry for not being more thorough.

this weekend, parents, Brianna

I received word a month ago that Dad was in bad shape mentally and that it looked like he had Alzheimers. It didn't seem that way when we were there. (But my brother who told me sees Dad more than I). My older brother did say he has bad and good days, and he has already been getting tests for his memory. So, I'm not sure what to think.

It's interesting to see the interaction between Mom & Dad. I can't fault too much of it their marriage has lasted 61 years and counting and I couldn't even get ours to last a decade. Still, it bothers me some the way he orders Mom around the house. I was hoping if he was actually "out of it" then he was not giving so many orders to Mom. It really was a different mindset between man and woman back in the 1940s when they 1st got together.

Anyway, things are back to normal and all the bags are all unpacked. My WalMart transaction hasn't shown up on my checking account statement so I am hoping and praying that I can get my paycheck into the band on time tomorrow and they will credit that before they credit the electronic Walmart transaction. It still makes me angry that I was weak enough to buy the shoes. Even though they were not that much money (less than $30) it still would be enough to put my checking account into an overdraft, so I could've waited. Someday, I'm going to write an essay on how our financial condition seems to "define" us!

Also, Brianna has learned to tie her shoes. She ties them loosely, however, and so she has to keep tying them (practice). I just hope and pray that she doesn't lose heart and give up on tying shoes. So far so good. It is NOT an easy skill to teach! Now if we can just get her to tie them tightly rather than loosely.

unreal !!

Having the Governors at the Florida conference gather around and hear in rapt attention what Sarah Palin has to say is akin to a bunch of big business CEOs take advice from a precocious 9 year old!

I still have the JONES!!

I am a political junkie and operated under a large amount of stress last week, then euphoria and now apprehension. The apprehension is a new Congress and a new President make the nation appreciably better is NOT guaranteed.

So, I'm nervous about how all this will turn out. Also, I continue to apprehensively watch news shows. & instead of getting angry with Johm McCain and Sarah Palin, now I'm made at hostile journalists. I still am jonesing for news and have all these questions: is Obama safe? is he going to succeed? what are his opponents up to (both inside and outside the nation)? What in the world is going to happen??!!??

George Will, a conservative commentator, was on the TV, got up, and asked, "Can I tell you 3 reasons why Republicans should still be happy?"

"NO YOU CAN'T, ASSHOLE!", I shouted at the TV and promptly switched it off.

Watched a program on CNN. This Journalist who I don't know the name of and don't give a damn to find out was questioning Obama hiring Rahm Emmanuel as Chief of Staff. So he asks, "If Obama is such a "man of the people" why does he have a pit bull (Emmanuel) guarding the White House door?"

So I shout back at the tv,

"Because a Chief of Staff has to make sure the staff of the White House is on task, competent and not 'off message'. The role of Chief of Staff in this case also relates to making certain demands on Congress which will need to be done, obviously. The idea that Emmanuel is tough and disciplined is recognized by friend and foe alike. The dumbass journalist is not smart enough to understand that Emannuel being Chief of Staff does absolutely nothing to take away the President's "man of the people" perception!"

This all brings up a very interesting point. Everyone was so enthralled with this bald moron from Ohio called Joe the Plumber. Joe the Plumber stated that Barack Obama was going to betray Israel and allow its enemies to attack the nation. So Obama hires Rahm Emmanuel as Chief of Staff, who is a Jew. It's indisputable that Emmanuel holds a very important position in the Obama White House. Furthermore, Emmanuel is someone who Obama has been friends/political associates for quite awhile. So does anyone with any common sense really believe the stupid, ignorant beliefs that Joe the Plumber spouted off about Obama & Israel. I hope not. Let's hope that Joe the Plumber's 15 minutes of fame are up. However, his unfair remark is just a series of unfair remarks that Obama will be subject to during his presidency.

UPDATE: I found a solution to my "jones" problem. I am going to get a subscription to The New Republic. I used to have a subscription but had to save a little money. It's not too expensive.

praising the young

I wrote to about 8 or 9 college student newspapers from North Carolina, Indiana, and Ohio. It's possible I might write a few more letters to students in Virginia.

Anyway, people ages 18-21, college age students have been counted out and taken for granted for many years in politics. The view is that since they are the age group with the lowest proportion of voting, that it doesn't matter if they are opposed to a certain issue or not.

But this election was different. College age students turned out to vote (mostly for President - Elect Obama) in record numbers. They made an impact in the very close elections in places like the states listed above. It made me proud of this age group. So I wrote a letter of congratulations to them and praised them for participating. Maybe it should have been expected all along, but I don't agree with that. It's actions by these young people for the better, and that deserves praise!

HE WON! A truly special night!

At long last, the people have spoken!!! My candidates won and the hope is that the bad times Americans have suffered (especially economically) will all be a bad dream 4 years from now. There are no guarantees on that, however.

I am happy that Obama triumphed over a couple of below average candidates in McCain & Palin. There are more than 3 reasons that make me truly happy to be on the winning side.

First, I'm sick to death of the Republicans 2-word panacea (in other words, solution to every problem): TAX CUTS. Republicans love to criticized Democrats for their "tax and spend" policies. What about the Republicans "borrow and bury" policies? Republicans hate raising taxes, so when they inevitably spend more than they tax, they borrow money. As a result, (and this is the important part) American taxpayers pay money on the interest. So instead of the Democrats spending $4 million on a tank, Republicans spend almost $5 million on the same exact tank because Americans also have to pay interest on the money they borrow. There is no "pay as you go" with Republicans, and suc a disastrous policy could not come at a worse time. More and more "Baby Boomers" are going to retire and the amount the United States spends on Social Security will jump astronomically in the next 2 decades.

We need to somehow get the tax money to meet such expense. We will get that with a Democratic president and Congress. Secondly, the Bush administration and his ilk have had a dreadful, godawful, loathsome environmental record. It will be nice to see an administration reverse course on being better stewards of our earth.

Third, we will get a better balanced judicial branch. A president appoints federal judges. We have had more Republican presidents in the last 20 yrs. than we have had Democrat. We have too many who are too conservative. It led to a mistaken decision in the Supreme Court in 2000 when the Supreme Court stopped cold the voting/counting process in Florida in Bush v. Gore.

At 8:25 pm, I knew and later learned the McCain camp learned the race was for all intents & purposes over. When Pennsylvania went to Obama earlier and then at 8:25 Ohio also went to Obama, that was the one-two punch that put the Republicans prostrate on the canvas.

I'm a little nervous. All eyes are on Democrats as they lead Congress and we have a Democratic President Elect. If things go South, it will be blamed on the Democrats. I hope that Obama's ideas take root and grow among the people. I hope we can get a handle on the budget deficit, end the war in Iraq, and reverse course on the environment.

Where will all this change lead Americans? An anxious nation and an anxious world awaits!

I really want to congratulate all of the voting 18 and 19 year olds, all of the voting 20somethings college or non-college who got out and voted. Those awesome young people helped win this election for a very worthy candidate. People from 18 to 29 have never gotten much respect from politicians and political experts b/c it's so rare for people of that age group to finally, at long last flex their political muscle! It was so inspiring to see that young men and women intelligently recognized how crucial this election was and used their power to support Obama and other Democrats. I can hardly wait to see what brilliant minds will come from their age group to lead this nation in the future.

You could see, feel and be inspired by the happiness of the accomplishment tonight. The faces of many minorities in the crowd at Grant Park, Chicago. They fully realized that together no problem was too big and nearly anything positive was possible. In fact, as much as I liked seeing and hearing Barack Obama tonight, I was more energized by the pictures/footage of the crowd. The look of sheer joy, the feeling of euphoria and the confidence of triumph. Seeing Oprah cry tears of joy, seing Rev. Jesse Jackson, a presidential candidate crying not once but twice. More than a few of us cried tears of joy as well.

It's within our hands to solve some serious problems. Working together, we can do no less!

I voted

I got up 1/2 hour early to go and vote. I waited in line 15 minutes (no complaint there!) to vote. I felt happy, but still nervous and anxious. Rachel Maddow explained why there are still concerns. For instance, Virginia is a very important state and they simply aren't equipped or prepared for the big turnout. That may lead to chaos and disorder. & chaos and disorder and lower amount of people voting favors Republicans (CRINNNNNNNGGGGGGE).

The first picture was supposed show clearly the words "I voted", oh well, you get the idea. In the other picture, you get to see the place where I work. (No, I'm not impressed either! lol).

UPDATE: I've learned that there are already problems with the voting today, especially in the very important state of Virginia. Stories include: man hit power poll and knocked out all power for the electrical voting devices, a person who was supposed to open the location where voters vote overslept so that polling place opened about an hour late, and of course, long lines abound all over Virginia. John McCain's staff has sued Virginia and accusing the state of not counting military/overseas soldiers' voting. If this becomes a close, contested vote like 2000, watch for Republicans falsely accusing Democrats/governmental leaders of suppressing the vote of the military. The military vote is conservative and bolsters the Republican vote. This was one of the battle cries in Florida back in the sad, bad election year 2000.

I continue to be worried and optimistic all at once that we find out Obama won by 8pm, CST, but there's no indication whether or not that will happen!

UPDATE: It's 3:00 pm., CST, and I'm a "hot ham & cheese MESS"! That's slang for a person who is very nervous, angry or in some animated condition. I'm not angry, but my nerves are screaming and growing through my skin begging and pleading for some news or information about the progress of this election. & obviously, right now, there's nothing to report. In 3 - 3 1/2 more hours, we will finally get some information as to what in the world is going on in Virginia. Right now, as a major political junkie, I am "jonesing" for a fix (a fix for conclusive political information), and there is just no fix to be had.

doing something beneficial

My youngest, Brianna, who just turned 7, doesn’t do many things with me alone. Why? Because, if I’m alone with any of my kids, it’s Ted and usually we are all doing things together. However, yesterday was different. We decided to walk on the bike/walking trail. I was pleasantly surprised at 2 things: how good of a time we had and the fact I got a better workout then I anticipated. Brianna decided that it wasn’t good enough to simply walk on the trail. So, there were times she decided to run. I am glad that she’s only 7 and not 14, because I would not have been able to keep up with her. But with Bri, I kept up just fine although I was huffing and puffing.
But it was funny, because Brianna was completely in charge! She decided when we would start running and stop running! I simply followed along. The picture is her on the trail. I live in Cook County, Illinois and Cook County has more miles of walking/bike trails than anywhere in the United States. We were on an oval that was 3.3 miles long. We walked about ½ of it and then we crossed the street, to a lagoon and saw all the ducks and geese.
We spent about an hour walking and when she asked how far we walked, I told her about 2 miles. It was a very enjoyable time. I’m glad I was able to burn off a few calories I have gained eating Halloween candy. The best thing is we will be doing that again next weekend!

She asked a rather endearing question. "Daddy, why do people keep smiling at me?"

"Because they like seeing your beauty and innocence," I replied.