Saturday, February 14, 2009

The Day it Rained Forever

The Public Library just had a book sale and I was lucky enough to find a nice hard-cover copy of The Stories of Ray Bradbury. The 100 stories in here will nicely complement my copy of a more recent Bradbury anthology of 100 stories--none of them are duplicated.

I've been in a lull. Although I have been quite productive teaching-wise, my life has been dominated lately by the difficulties my boxer dog is having. She's 10 years old and shows the symptoms of geriatric vestibular syndrome. Although her mind is still there, she lacks to coordination now to feed herself. I've been feeding her by hand, though, as it's the least I can do. She really has been a great dog--albeit a somewhat high-maintenance one. :-) She went through a difficult spell last Spring and fully recovered. We're hoping she can do so again, although this time the symptoms are much more severe. When I was a kid I used to absolutely dread the extreme emptiness you experience when you lose a pet. Not much has changed, really. Many things just don't matter as much all of a sudden, and you feel as if you're floating through life.

8 comments:

Jackie Ballarini said...

I'm so sorry. I hope she's making an amazing recovery.

Unknown said...

Thanks, Jackie. Min Min had to be put down yesterday. I'm going to avoid blogging for awhile and sort through this in my private journals.

Kate said...

I'm sorry for the loss of your pet. It sounds like she had a very nice life with you.

Unknown said...

Thanks, Kate. I sure enjoy reading your blog, by the way. You've been quite prolific lately, which gave me things to read as I was going through this hard time.

Min Min had a great life with us. We're dog people and she was with us all the time, even hiking or travelling. She'd lay her head on my lap when I played video games, even....

Anonymous said...

Hi Brother,
I am so sorry about Min Min. We loved her very much as well and are grieving right along with you guys. For those that don't know the story, Min Min was named after my boxer Jasmine. I remember you falling in love with Jazzie when you were here and then going and getting your own goofy boxer. Min Min's loss now brings back the pain I felt when Jazzie's body gave out also, and she needed to be freed from her pain. Somehow, I know they're together now, our "pretty girls", ...and there just has to be a special heaven for boxers,that includes warm beds and couches to lay on, and big bowls of Cheetos, and days that are always sunny.

Take care, Love you! ((HUGS))

Unknown said...

We were just going through our first photo album that had Min in it. We're not trying to avoid thinking of her, as that would be impossible.

We saw the pictures of Jasmine and then little puppy Min Min. I actually find myself wanting to look at pictures of her, even though it hurts to do so.

This whole thing has really hit me in a philosophical way. I've been re-aligning my values a bit and thinking a lot of some of the things I want to make sure I do in life before it's too late. What better way to pay tribute to Min than to do more good in the world, right?

I remember the day I took Min Min and Chessie to school and had them attend my math classes with all my students. Chessie sat in a desk like a good student and Min was...well, more like a typical student. :-)

Anonymous said...

We miss you minn!!!

cjturt

Anonymous said...

Thanks for coming over this weekend. It was fun going with you to the goodwill. I cant wait to go on a road trip this summer. Good times lie ahead G!


CJTURTKEY