What is it about nice people that attract total idiots?Nice people are martyrs. Idiots are evangelists.

SOCK IT TO ME BABY!!!

Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Scrappy... and the ban. But mostly Scrappy.

Today I'd like to lightly address the "Muslim ban" issue.  Just hang on; it'll take up just this one paragraph.  I get that there are a lot of you out there that think it's horrible that we aren't letting them in, that there are people out there who DESERVE a taste of freedom and a place on these shores, and believe that America, and especially our President, is acting in a mean vindictive way.  I would like here to remind you of a few important facts.  Before you think the refugees are the only victims here, go look up what is happening in cities across Europe, google the last two New Years' Eves in Europe.  Understand what it is the "ban" is trying to prevent.  Before you call it a "Muslim ban", consider that of the SEVEN nations (out of 50 Muslim-majority nations) in the ban, only Iran has a stable government that would be able to co-operate in the vetting process;  This ban doesn't even cover all the nations we can prove have terrorists sneaking in here and in Europe, just the ones whose rulers are too divided, or too imbecilic, to help in the vetting.  And before you tell me how all the earth is united against us on this, ask the hypocrites in the EU why 3 million refugees in Turkey, and about 15,000 more on the Greek Islands, not including those already on the mainland facing border fences in Austria, Switzerland, and Hungary, are NOT in THEIR countries.  And while you're at it, Google "why did Britons vote for Brexit" and read the cornucopia of stories that name forced EU immigration and refugee quotas as the top reason by a substantial margin.

See?  That was easy!


And now I'd like to talk about Scrappy.




Scrappy is an old man- figuring he's heading for year 13.  And it shows on him.  Look closely and you can see the mass on his left shoulder.  You've probably noticed his occasionally buggered up right eye. He has at least two lumps on his belly bigger than his (resting) pee-wee.  But that's all cosmetic.

His favorite thing in the world is walks.  Since Peanut was born, we've been keeping track of our walks, and he's rang up just past 95 miles in those 86 days, right around a mile a day.  But he pays for it.  Anything over a mile anymore, and he limps the rest of the day.  His back end doesn't respond like it used to, his back legs give out after resting a while.  Last night, he barely made it up to bed.  In the morning he's fine, and just try to slow him down when the leash is on!  But what a cost.

The other morning, after he had had a fairly normal 2 mile jaunt with me the day before, I told him "to the office and back, and that's it".  I dropped him off after his 7/10ths leg, and it broke my heart when he looked at me when I went out to get the additional exercise I needed.  Last night broke it worse.  2 summers ago, he basically shrugged off a the 5 miles to Shoaff and back.  Now I'll have to drive him there.

I get a lot of my milage at work, going back and forth in front of my machine- about 60 of my almost 178 miles.  And some days, that's all I get, because he just can't make it.  Sometimes I'm happy when it's too cold or wet to go, for his sake.



He is the Clark to my Lewis, the Jim to my Marlin.  A lot of the best things I have seen in life I have seen with him.  I told Laurie the other night, "The things we love the most (for me, Pepsi) are killing us both."  She chuckled a little, and I muttered, "I'm not being even a little funny."  I used to call him "the good morning baby" because on the weekends, he was in my face trying to get me up and going at first full light.  Now, he stays under the covers until I'm dressed most mornings.  Getting old sucks.  It sucks harder when you get old faster.

Despite the joking on Time Machine, I'm no Time Lord.  I can't reverse the clock.  Our lives are a "fixed point in time".  Hootie said it best:

Time, why you punish me? 
Like a wave bashing into the shore 
You wash away my dreams. 
Time, why you walk away? 
Like a friend with somewhere to go 
You left me crying 
Can you teach me about tomorrow 
And all the pain and sorrow 
Running free? 
Cause tomorrow's just another day 
And I don't believe in time ...


Time is wasting 
Time is walking 
You ain't no friend of mine 
I don't know where i'm goin' 
I think I'm out of my mind 
Thinking about time 
And if I die tomorrow, yeah 
Just lay me down in sleep ...


And now, I think I'll have a Pepsi.  Because, screw you, time...

12 comments:

  1. Chris:
    ---The manner in which you capsulized the "ban" (which is not really a ban anyway), was most eloquent. Like to see the lame-stream media TRY and put it as well...

    ---As for Scrappy...
    Well, you KNOW I've been down this road way too many times, and I also know where the end of it lies.
    Your Hootie quote was very moving and brought back some memories, which is fine...they allow you to remember a lot of good stuff.
    Time is life's one, constant inevitability, my friend.
    We can't cheat it, reverse it, or make it halt in place.
    But what we need to remember most of all is that we should never waste it, for once it passes, we can never get any of it back.
    Oh, to be a Time Lord...for only ONE day.
    Just be there for Scrappy, be good to Scrappy and don't forget to be good to YOURSELF along the way.
    Stay safe up there, brother.

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    1. I've loved that Hootie song since it came out for those lines. Not a fan of Time, nor of change. Certainly not a fan of mortality, especially for those like him and me whose minds never really grow up.

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  2. Aging isn't great for anyone human or non human and he is lucky to have you as you are to have him.

    I said this on Taylor's blog about the ban, you can find her here:http://www.thedailytay.com/

    "I struggled with what to write here so much that I left it till after I took Leo to school, I am not against refugees generally speaking most are honest people trying to escape hell but I am in favour of them being vetted strictly to make sure those who are allowed in don't become a threat to us. Sadly there are some who try to get into a country as a refugee when in fact they are a terrorist wanting to do us harm so we do need to be careful, it is a sign of the times, the times being those where humans hurt humans those times have been around from day 1, they are not new times but we are more familiar with these issues than years gone by. Those who really are in fear of their lives, those who really are escaping hell, should be able to escape to a safer place but those of us living in a safe country need to take care when allowing them to escape to our safe country"

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    1. Because if we don't keep this country safe, there will be no safe place.

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  3. Although your walks get shorter, they are still wonderful and good for both of you, physically and mentally.
    It's so hard to see a mate get older. My husbands heart broke when we lost our old boy and we never could replace him.
    Love you and Scrappy.

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    1. Thanks. And they are still great. Just not looking forward to slinging him over my back for a walk...

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  4. First this,"why did Britons vote for Brexit" Yep. And that's all I will say on that.

    *sigh*

    I thought I knew about love for an animal because I had lost my very first dog shortly after I married Devin. Me and my kids were a mess. Devin helped us all get through it. He was my knight in shining armor and I'm so grateful to him for that because that dog was my guardian angel after my first hubby passed away and I brought her into our marriage to him. Devin had brought his own dog too. His dog lived for several more years and like my dog, they went through some very tough times together...a divorce, his addiction, his recovery, a death in the family, and through it all, his dog was by his side. Like you, he walked him every single day (now with two other dogs too). Rain, snow, hail, nothing stopped my husband. You get where I'm going. Eventually, those mile walks were only to the edge of our deck and back inside again. It was then that I truly knew, really knew how much love and adoration a person can feel for their pet. They are a family member.

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    1. I've had a lot of dogs, lost a lot of dogs. This is my partner in crime, my confidant. This is the first dog I have ever considered saying, this is the last one. My sister went through that a while back.

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  5. I have friends, who just use a pram, when their pup can't walk so far anymore

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    1. Scrappy would slit his throat... at least right now...

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  6. My heart breaks for you in reading this, but at least it's not completely goodbye. Just goodbye to a particular activity. Regardless, enjoy the time while you've got it left. I would have given anything to say a slow goodbye to my dumb little chihuahua, rather than just losing him seemingly out of nowhere one day.

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    1. I've lost a lot of pets sudden as well. Either way sucks. I had a friend who had a dog that was unable to walk and was messing itself before it passed. I just pray for a good somewhere-in-the-middle.

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